THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT 
LAJFAT   R.AI 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

RIVERSIDE 


YOUNG  INDIA 


Dadabhai  Naoroji 


YOUNG  INDIA 

AN  INTERPRETATION  AND  A  HISTORY  OF 

THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT 

FROM  WITHIN 


LAJPAT  RAI,  Ul^ 

1 

FOREWORD  BY  J.  T.  SUNDERLAND 

ILLUSTRATED 


"  The  people  of  India  are  capable  of  administering 
their  own  affairs  and  the  municipal  feeling  is  deep 
rooted  in  them.  The  village  communities,  each  of 
which  is  a  little  republic,  are  the  most  abiding  of 
Indian  institutions." 

(Lord   Lawrence,   once   Viceroy   and   Governor- 
General  of  British  India). 


NEW  YORK 

B.  W.  HUEBSCH 

1916 


Copyright,  1916,  by 
B.  W.  HUEBSCH 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


DEDICATED 

TO 

THE  MEMORY  OF  MY  DEAREST  FRIEND 

THE  LATE  LAMENTED 

DWARKA  DASS,  M.  A.  OF  THE  PUNJAB 

WHO  DIED  OF  A  BROKEN  HEART,  AT  THE 

COLLAPSE  OF  PUBLIC  LIFE  IN 

HIS  NATIVE  PROVINCE, 

(OCTOBER  1912) 

AS  AN  HUMBLE  TRIBUTE  TO  HIS  UNCOMPROMISING 

ATTITUDE  TOWARDS   PUBLIC   LIFE,  HIS 

LOFTY  PRINCIPLES,  AND  HIS  NOBLE 

ADVOCACY  OF  THEM 


FOREWORD 

Mr.  Lajpat  Rai,  the  author  of  this  book,  is  one  of 
the  most  widely  known,  most  honoured  and  most  in- 
fluential public  men  in  India.  For  more  than  twenty- 
years  he  has  been  a  leading  member  of  the  bar  in 
Lahore,  the  capital  city  of  the  large  province  of  the 
Punjab,  and  has  long  been  prominent  in  public  af- 
fairs both  local  and  national. 

From  almost  the  beginning  of  the  National  Indian 
Congress  he  has  been  an  active  leader  in  that  body, 
which  is  the  most  important  political  organization  in 
the  country.  The  last  time  I  was  in  India  (two  and 
a  half  years  ago)  I  found  that  he  was  being  widely 
talked  of  for  the  Presidency  of  the  Congress  at  its 
approaching  yearly  meeting. 

Conspicuous  in  Indian  educational  work  and  a 
founder  of  the  large  and  flourishing  Anglo- Vedic 
College  in  Lahore,  he  has  for  a  dozen  years  or  more 
held  the  position  of  either  Vice-President  or  Hon- 
ourary  Secretary  of  the  College,  and  also  that  of 
Lecturer  in  History. 

He  started  The  Punjabee,  a  leading  paper  in  the 
province,  published  in  English,  and  has  edited  a 
monthly  magazine  and  a  weekly  paper  printed  in  the 
vernacular,  besides  writing  for  other  Indian  period- 
icals and  for  reviews  in  London. 

The  Arya  Samaj,  an  important,  fast  growing  and 


viii  FOREWORD 

influential  movement  of  religious  reform  in  India, 
which  rejects  idolatry  and  caste  and  is  active  in  pro- 
moting education,  social  reforms  and  the  elevation 
of  woman,  counts  Mr.  Rai  among  its  honoured 
leaders. 

He  has  organized  relief  work  during  periods  of 
famine  in  India,  and  has  for  some  years  led  in  an 
extensive  movement  for  the  elevation  of  the  "  De- 
pressed Classes,"  that  is,  the  forty  millions  of  "  out- 
casts "  or  "  untouchables "  whose  condition  is  so 
miserable.  Several  years  ago  I  attended  a  National 
Conference  to  promote  this  work,  at  which  he  pre- 
sided and  delivered  a  powerful  address. 

Mr.  Lajpat  Rai  has  made  three  or  four  extended 
visits  to  England  and  three  to  America.  In  Eng- 
land he  has  spoken  in  many  cities  as  a  delegate  from 
the  National  Indian  Congress,  for  the  purpose  of 
acquainting  the  British  public  with  the  real  condi- 
tion of  things  in  India,  and  to  urge  upon  the  British 
Government  the  granting  to  the  Indian  people  of  cer- 
tain important  political  reforms.  In  America  he  has 
made  a  careful  study  of  our  history  and  institutions, 
our  industrial  and  social  movements,  our  political 
and  religious  life,  and  especially  our  schools  and  uni- 
versities, and  our  educational  systems  and  methods. 
He  is  impressed  with  the  leadership  which  the  United 
States  is  attaining  in  the  world  of  education,  par- 
ticularly education  in  scientific,  industrial,  techno- 
logical and  agricultural  directions,  and  he  finds  much 
here  which  he  desires  to  see  introduced  into  his  own 
country. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  New  National  Move- 


FOREWORD  ix 

ment  in  India,  Mr.  Rai  has  been  one  of  its  most 
prominent  leaders.  He  is  an  ardent  patriot,  is  proud 
of  his  country,  her  civilization,  her  literature  and  her 
great  place  in  the  world's  history,  and  he  believes  she 
is  destined  to  have  a  great  future,  commensurate 
with  her  great  past.  But  now  she  is  a  subject  land, 
ruled  by  a  foreign  power,  her  own  people  having 
practically  no  voice  in  the  direction  of  their  own 
national  affairs  or  the  shaping  of  their  future  des- 
tiny. This  deeply  grieves  and  galls  him,  as  it  does 
a  large  part  of  the  Indian  people.  The  Nationalist 
Movement,  of  which  he  gives  an  account  in  this  book, 
is  a  protest  against  present  political  conditions,  and 
a  demand  for  larger  freedom  and  independence. 
Indeed,  its  aim  is  self-rule;  not  necessarily  severance 
of  connection  with  the  British  Empire,  but  partner- 
ship in  the  Empire, —  home  rule  inside  the  Empire 
like  that  enjoyed  by  Canada,  Australia  and  South 
Africa. 

The  British  Government  of  India  frowns  upon 
this  Nationalist  Movement,  tries  to  suppress  it,  and 
places  its  leaders  under  ban.  This  is  the  way  des- 
potic governments  always  treat  subject  peoples  as 
soon  as  they  grow  restive  in  their  bonds  and  try  to 
loosen  them  or  throw  them  off.  Mr.  Lajpat  Rai 
has  had  to  pay  heavily  for  his  patriotism.  In  1907 
he  was  seized  by  the  Government  and,  without  trial 
or  even  being  told  what  was  his  offence,  was  secretly 
sent  away  to  prison  in  Burmah,  and  kept  there  six 
months.  He  was  suspected  of  disloyalty  and  sedi- 
tion, but  not  the  slightest  evidence  was  found  against 
him.     His  only  crime  was  that  he  was  a  Nationalist, 


x  FOREWORD 

and  was  working  in  perfectly  open  and  legal  ways 
to  secure  greater  liberty  for  his  country.  After  his 
release  from  prison,  he  brought  legal  suits  against 
two  newspapers,  one  in  India  and  one  in  London, 
that  had  published  charges  of  sedition  against  him; 
and,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  powerful 
influence  of  the  Government  was  on  the  side  of 
the  papers,  he  won  both  suits, —  so  clear  was  his 
case. 

For  a  full  dozen  years  India  has  been  seething 
with  unrest,  seething  with  dissatisfaction  over  pres- 
ent political  conditions.  During  the  past  ten  years 
there  has  been  not  a  little  bomb  throwing  and  not  a 
few  signs  of  revolution.  When  the  present  Euro- 
pean war  broke  out  there  were  at  once  increased 
outward  expressions  of  loyalty;  but  the  unrest  has 
remained.  When  the  war  is  over  what  will  happen? 
That  will  depend,  Mr.  Lajpat  Rai  believes,  upon  the 
course  pursued  by  the  British  Government.  If  the 
Government  in  a  generous  spirit  meets  India's  just 
demands,  there  will  be  no  revolution.  If  the  Gov- 
ernment blindly  and  obstinately  refuses,  the  worst 
may  happen. 

While  Mr.  Rai  is  an  ardent  and  uncompromising 
advocate  of  the  Nationalist  Cause,  he  has  always 
counselled  procedure  by  evolutionary  and  not  by 
revolutionary  measures,  by  vigorous  and  determined 
agitation  and  not  by  bomb  throwing.  Throughout 
his  entire  career  he  has  striven  by  every  means, 
through  speech  and  the  press,  in  India  and  in  Eng- 
land, to  move  the  British  Government  to  prevent 
revolution,  in  what  he  believes  is  the  only  possible 


FOREWORD  xi 

way,  namely,  by  inaugurating  and  carrying  out  hon- 
estly a  policy  of  justice  to  the  Indian  people. 

There  is  in  sight  an  Indian  Renaissance.  There 
is  a  "  New  India  in  the  Making."  Indeed  the  stir- 
rings of  new  life  in  India  are  hardly  less  marked, 
less  profound  or  less  revolutionary,  than  in  Japan 
or  China.  Of  this  the  book  gives  a  vivid  and  re- 
liable picture, —  and,  what  is  of  great  importance,  a 
picture  from  the  inside. 

We  have  many  books  which  portray  Indian  condi- 
tions as  foreigners  see  them, —  particularly  as  they 
are  seen  by  Christian  missionaries  and  by  the  British 
rulers  of  the  country.  At  last  we  have  a  book  which 
gives  us  the  life,  the  experiences,  the  wrongs,  the 
sufferings,  the  hopes,  the  aims,  the  motives,  and, 
what  at  the  present  time  is  most  important  of  all, 
the  political  ideals  and  ambitions  of  the  Indian  peo- 
ple themselves,  portrayed  by  one  of  their  own  num- 
ber, a  leader  who  has  been  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
struggle  from  the  beginning,  and  who  has  felt  it  all 
in  his  own  life  and  his  own  soul. 

It  is  a  message  to  every  man  and  woman  in 
America,  and  in  Great  Britain,  too,  who  loves  justice 
and  hates  oppression,  and  who  wants  to  know  about 
one  of  the  most  heroic  struggles  for  liberty  now  go- 
ing on  in  the  world. 

My  own  intimate  acquaintance  with  India  for 
many  years  gives  me  a  greatly  increased  sense  of  the 
value  of  Mr.  Rai's  book.  Perhaps  nothing  in  the 
volume  will  be  found  more  surprising  or  more  in- 
teresting to  Americans  than  the  overwhelming  evi- 
dence of  the  dissatisfaction  of  India  with  her  pres- 


xii  FOREWORD 

ent  political  condition,  and  the  fact  that  the  Indian 
people  want  home  rule,  want  it  more  earnestly  than 
they  want  anything  else,  and  that  probably  nothing 
less  than  this  will  keep  them  loyal  to  Great  Britain. 
This  feeling,  which  had  been  growing  fast  for  years 
before  the  war  broke  out,  has  since  sprung  into  a 
passion.  And  we  may  be  sure  that  the  flame  will 
not  burn  with  less  intensity  when  the  soldiers  return 
who  have  been  risking  their  lives  for  Great  Britain 
in  Turkey  and  Egypt  and  France,  and  who  have 
been  learning  new  lessons  of  self-reliance,  freedom 
and  independence  from  their  contact  with  the  great 
world. 

It  is  hardly  possible  today  to  take  up  an  Indian 
periodical  of  any  kind,  Hindu  or  Mohammedan,  secu- 
lar or  religious  (I  myself  regularly  subscribe  for  and 
read  nine,  two  of  the  number  making  a  specialty  of 
a  monthly  summary  of  Indian  press  opinion),  with- 
out being  brought  upon  some  expression  of  this  uni- 
versal desire  for  self-rule.  The  people  are  dis- 
posed to  be  patient  and  considerate,  and  make  no 
demands  upon  the  Government  that  will  be  embar- 
rassing so  long  as  the  war  lasts.  But  everything  in- 
dicates that  when  peace  comes  they  will  be  in  no 
mood  to  be  treated  like  children  and  put  off  with  the 
usual  vague  and  meaningless  promises. 

Since  India  has  borne  faithfully  and  loyally  her 
part  in  the  war,  one  of  the  distinct  stipulations  in  the 
treaty  of  peace  at  the  end  should  be  the  granting  to 
her  of  home  rule.  This  is  as  much  her  right  as  is 
autonomy  the  right  of  Belgium  or  Poland.  This 
right  is  recognized  by  not  a  few  Englishmen;  it 


FOREWORD  xiii 

should  be  recognized  by  the  whole  nation,  and  put 
into  effect  generously,  freely,  without  waiting  for 
struggle  and  bloodshed.  The  advantage  to  Great 
Britain  would  be  incalculable.  It  would  remove 
from  her  as  a  nation  her  most  threatening  danger, 
and  it  would  give  to  her  Empire  a  solidity  and  per- 
manent strength  such  as  it  cannot  otherwise  secure. 

While  India  wants  freedom  to  shape  her  own 
affairs,  her  wisest  minds  do  not  desire  separation 
from  England.  They  recognize  many  strong  ties 
between  the  two  countries  which  they  would  not  see 
broken.  While  they  are  determined  not  much  longer 
to  lie  prostrate  beneath  England's  feet,  they  would 
gladly  stand  by  her  side,  arm  in  arm  with  her,  firmly 
united  for  great  ends  of  mutual  welfare  and  mutual 
strength.  An  Anglo-Indian  Empire  is  one  of  the 
splendid  possibilities  of  the  future,  binding  Britain 
and  her  colonies  and  her  great  Asiatic  possession 
together  into  a  powerful  world-spanning  federation 
of  free  peoples.  Something  like  this  is  the  dream  of 
India's  greatest  leaders,  as  it  is  also  the  dream  of 
not  a  few  of  Britain's  most  far-seeing  minds.    • 

When  this  world-revolutionizing  war  is  over, 
Great  Britain  must  reshape  after  a  larger  and  more 
adequate  pattern  her  whole  scheme  of  Imperial  Gov- 
ernment. She  must  become  a  Federated  Empire. 
There  must  be  self-government  at  home,  not  only 
for  Ireland  but  also  for  Scotland,  Wales  and  Eng- 
land. And  there  must  be  self-government  abroad, 
not  only  for  Canada,  Australasia  and  South  Africa, 
but,  as  not  less  imperative  and  not  less  wise,  for  In- 
dia also,  to  be  followed  in  time,  as  conditions  can  be 


xiv  FOREWORD 

made  favourable,  by  self-rule  more  or  less  complete 
for  all  of  Britain's  more  important  dependencies. 

The  danger  is  that  Britain  may  forget  India  or 
thrust  her  aside,  as  in  the  past,  to  the  position  of  a 
mere  dependency.  If  she  does  this  she  will  plant  a 
cancer  in  the  heart  of  her  Empire,  she  will  create  a 
volcano  under  her  throne.  It  will  take  courage  and 
large  statesmanship  to  give  India  home  rule,  as  it 
took  large  statesmanship  and  courage  to  give  home 
rule  to  South  Africa.  But  the  splendid  venture  must 
be  made.  And,  made  in  the  right  spirit,  it  will  suc- 
ceed as  perfectly  as  it  did  in  South  Africa. 

Has  Great  Britain  statesmen  sufficiently  far- 
sighted,  with  adequate  genius  and  courage,  to  do  to 
India  the  splendid  justice  of  giving  her  the  home 
rule  which  is  her  right,  and  then  to  create  a  world- 
circling  federation  of  free  peoples  with  India  a  part- 
ner in  it, —  a  real  Anglo-Indian  Empire?  It  would 
be  the  most  brilliant,  constructive  and  noble  work  of 
statesmanship  known  to  the  modern  world. 

Now  that  Canadians,  Australians,  New  Zealand- 
ers  and  South  Africans  as  well  as  Englishmen, 
Scotchmen,  Welshmen  and  Irishmen  have  fought 
side  by  side  with  the  soldiers  of  India,  shedding 
their  blood  in  a  common  cause,  why  should  they  not 
all  gladly  welcome  those  heroic  and  loyal  men  of 
the  East  to  a  place  by  their  side  in  the  Empire  which 
they  have  helped  to  save  ? 

Need  England  shrink  from  the  risk?  This  is 
her  path  of  least  risk.  Under  present  conditions 
India  is  her  peril.  The  one  thing  that  will  trans- 
form India  from  a  source  of  ever-increasing  danger 


FOREWORD  xv 

to  a  bulwark  of  strength,  is  to  trust  her  as  South 
Africa  has  been  trusted.  She  is  certainly  as  worthy 
of  trust  as  South  Africa  was.  Thus  to  trust  her, 
and  to  lift  her  up  to  a  responsible  place  in  the  Em- 
pire, will  appeal  to  India's  pride  as  it  has  never  been 
appealed  to,  will  create  in  her  an  enthusiasm  of  loy- 
alty equal  to  anything  seen  in  any  of  the  self-ruling 
colonies,  will  bind  her  to  Great  Britain  with  bands 
of  steel. 

Is  it  said  that  India  is  incapable  of  ruling  herself? 
That  was  said  of  South  Africa;  that  was  said  of 
Canada;  that  was  said  of  the  American  Colonies 
when  they  broke  off  from  Great  Britain  and  set  up 
a  Government  of  their  own;  that  is  what  England 
has  long  been  saying  of  Ireland.  That  is  what  every 
nation  that  loves  power  always  says  of  every  section 
of  its  people  that  wants  more  liberty. 

The  truth  is,  the  safest  Government  in  the  world 
for  every  people  of  any  intellectual  and  moral  de- 
velopment at  all  (and  India  is  advanced,  both  in- 
tellectually and  morally)  is  self-government.  No 
rule  so  completely  destroys  the  fibre  of  a  nation  as 
rule  by  a  foreign  power.  India  can  rule  herself  far 
better  than  any  foreign  nation  can  rule  her. 

If  India  is  incapable  of  self-government  today, 
what  an  indictment  is  that  against  England!  She 
was  not  thus  incapable  before  England  came.  Has 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  British  tutelage  pro- 
duced such  deterioration?  India  was  possessed  of 
a  high  civilization  and  of  developed  Governments 
long  before  England  or  any  part  of  Central,  West- 
ern or  Northern  Europe  had  emerged  from  bar- 


xvi  FOREWORD 

barism.  For  three  thousand  years  before  England's 
arrival  in  the  Orient,  Indian  Kingdoms  and  Empires 
had  held  leading  places  in  Asia,  and  that  means  in 
the  world.  Some  of  the  ablest  rulers,  statesmen, 
generals  and  financiers  known  to  history,  as  well  as 
many  of  the  greatest  thinkers  and  writers  of  man- 
kind, have  been  of  India's  production.  How  is  it, 
then,  that  she  suddenly  becomes  imbecile  and  unable 
to  stand  on  her  own  feet  or  conduct  her  own  affairs 
as  soon  as  England  appears  on  the  scene  ? 

To  be  sure,  at  the  time  when  England  came,  India 
was  in  a  peculiarly  disorganized  and  unsettled  state ; 
for  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  Mogul  Empire 
was  just  breaking  up  and  new  political  adjustments 
were  everywhere  just  being  made, —  a  fact  which 
accounts  for  England's  being  able  to  gain  political 
power  in  India  at  all.  But  everything  indicates  that 
if  India  had  not  been  interfered  with  by  European 
nations,  she  would  soon  have  been  under  competent 
Governments  of  her  own  again. 

A  further  answer  to  the  assertion  that  India  can- 
not govern  herself  —  surely  one  that  should  be  con- 
clusive —  is  the  fact  that,  in  parts,  she  is  governing 
herself  now,  and  governing  herself  well.  It  is  no- 
torious that  the  very  best  Government  in  India  to- 
day is  not  that  carried  on  by  the  British,  but  that  of 
several  of  the  Native  States,  notably  Baroda  and 
Mysore.  In  these  States,  particularly  Baroda,  the 
people  are  more  free,  more  prosperous,  more  con- 
tented, and  are  making  more  progress,  than  in  any 
other  part  of  India.  Note  the  superiority  of  both 
these  States  in  the  important  matter  of  popular  edu- 


FOREWORD  xvli 

cation.  Mysore  is  spending  on  education  more  than 
three  times  as  much  per  capita  as  is  British  India, 
while  Baroda  has  made  her  education  free  and 
compulsory.  Both  of  these  States,  but  especially 
Baroda,  which  has  thus  placed  herself  in  line  with 
the  leading  nations  of  Europe  and  America  by  mak- 
ing provisions  for  the  education  of  all  her  children, 
may  well  be  contrasted  with  British  India,  which 
provides  education,  even  of  the  poorest  kind,  for 
only  one  boy  in  ten  and  one  girl  in  one  hundred  and 
forty-four. 

The  only  ground  at  all  that  exists  for  the  claim 
that  the  Indian  people  are  not  able  to  govern  them- 
selves lies  in  the  fact  that  the  British  Government 
during  all  its  history  in  the  land  has  deprived  them, 
and  still  continues  to  deprive  them,  against  their 
constant  protest,  of  practical  experience  in  Govern- 
ment management.  They  had  such  experience  be- 
fore the  British  came,  but  since  that  time  they  have 
been  robbed  of  it  to  their  great  injury.  Of  course, 
under  present  conditions,  if  the  British  should  leave 
India  in  a  day,  with  no  body  of  men  trained  to  take 
their  places,  for  a  time  there  would  be  confusion, 
just  as  there  would  be  confusion  in  England  if  every- 
body there  accustomed  to  Government  management 
should  leave  that  country  in  a  day. 

But  the  Indian  people  do  not  ask  England  to  leave 
India  in  a  day,  or  to  leave  at  all ;  what  they  ask  is 
for  England  to  associate  with  herself  the  competent 
men  of  India  in  the  government  of  their  own  coun- 
try, and  thus  give  them  the  experience  in  self-rule 
which  is  their  right  and  of  which  they  never  ought 


xviii  FOREWORD 

to  have  been  deprived.  With  such  opportunities  for 
practical  experience  extended  to  them  for  twenty- 
years,  or  even  for  ten  years,  they  would  be  ready  for 
the  full  responsibilities  of  home  rule. 

Among  the  tens  of  thousands  of  India's  educated 
men,  and  men  of  natural  capacity  for  leadership, 
there  is  no  lack  of  material  to  fill,  and  fill  well  as 
soon  as  they  are  given  experience,  every  kind  of 
official  position.  Many  of  the  highest  judgeships 
are  now  filled  with  great  efficiency  by  Indians.  In 
no  department  of  the  Government  where  Indians 
have  been  adequately  tried  have  they  been  found 
wanting. 

The  truth  is,  not  one  single  fact  can  be  cited  to 
show  that  India  cannot  govern  herself  well  if  given 
a  chance.  It  would  not  be  difficult  to  form  an  In- 
dian Parliament  today,  composed  of  men  as  able 
and  of  as  high  character  as  those  that  constitute  the 
fine  Parliament  of  Japan.  India  has  public  men 
who,  if  they  lived  in  England  and  belonged  to  the 
English  race,  would  unhesitatingly  be  adjudged  not 
only  of  Parliamentary  but  of  Cabinet  rank.  For 
twenty  years  before  his  recent  lamented  death  Mr. 
Gokhale  was  confessedly  the  equal  in  intellectual 
ability  and  in  moral  worth  of  any  Englishman  in 
India,  not  excepting  the  three  Viceroys  under  whom 
he  served.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  declare  that 
Mr.  Justice  Renade  had  qualifications  fully  fitting 
him  for  the  position  of  Viceroy,  or  if  he  had  lived 
in  England,  fitting  him  for  the  position  of  Premier. 

This  is  only  another  way  of  saying  that  among 
the  leaders  of  the  various  States  and  Provinces  of 


FOREWORD  xix 

India  there  is  abundant  material  to  form  National 
and  Provincial  Governments  little,  if  at  all,  inferior 
in  ability  and  in  moral  character  to  the  Governments 
of  the  Western  world. 

J.  T.  Sunderland. 
New  York,  June,  191 6. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Foreword,  by  J.  T.  Sunderland vii 

Introduction I 

I.  The  General  Viewpoint  of  the  Indian  Nationalist    67 

First  Invasion  of  India 68 

Chandra  Gupta  and  Asoka 69 

India  Practically  Independent  Up  to  the  Twelfth  Cen- 
tury         70 

Muslim  Rule 71 

Muslim  Rule  in  India  not  Foreign 73 

India  Under  the  British 76 

Political  Disqualification  of  the  Indians 78 

Indians  May  not  Carry  Arms 80 

Loyalty  of  Ruling  Chiefs 90 

Middle  Class  Desires  Political  Freedom       ....  92 

II.  India  from  1757  to  1857 95 

Conflict  of  French  and  English  in  India     ....  96 

How  British  Rule  in  India  Was  Established     ...  96 

Methods  of  Consolidation  of  British  India  ....  97 

British  Public  Ignorant  of  Facts 98 

Conquest  of  India  Diplomatic,  not  Military       .     .     .  100 

The  Great  Indian  Mutiny  of  1857 101 

How  the  Mutiny  Was  Put  Down 102 

III.  India  from  1857  to  1905 109 

Part.  I.    From  1857  to  1885. 

The  Bengalee  Babu 109 

Forces  Resisting  Denationalisation 114 

Political  Disappointments 115 

xxi 


xxii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Lord  Ripon 118 

Lord  Dufferin 121 

Part  II.    The  Birth  of  the  Indian  National  Congress. 
Indian  National  Congress  an  English  Product  .     .     .122 

Hume,  a  Lover  of  Liberty 124 

Congress  to  Save  British  Empire  from  Danger      .     .   126 
The  Congress  Lacked  Essentials  of  a  National  Move- 
ment      138 

Hume's  Political  Movement 141 

Congress  Overawed 142 

Congress  Agitation  in  England 144 

Causes  of  Failure  of  the  Congress 145 

Part  III.    The  Birth  of  the  New  Nationalist  Movement. 

Swadeshi  and  Swaraj 148 

Men  Who  Have  Inspired  the  Movement      .     .     .     .152 

Lord  Curzon  and  Indian  Education 156 

Lord  Curzon's  Secret  Educational  Conference  .  .  158 
Indians  and  Lord  Curzon  at  Cross  Purposes  .  .  .  158 
The  Congress  Deputation  to  England  in  1905  .     .     .   159 

The  Congress  of  1905 160 

Object  of  the  Passive  Resistance  Movement     .     .     .   162 

IV.    The  First  Years  of  the  Nationalist  Movement  167 

Partition  of  Bengal 167 

Boycott  of  British  Goods 167 

Government's  Reply 170 

The  Second  Move  of  the  Bengalees:    The  National 

University 170 

Arabinda  Ghosh 172 

The  Nationalist  Press 176 

Military  Measures  against  Boycotters 177 

Lord  Minto 179 

Indian  Press  Gagged 180 

Deportation  of  Lajpat  Rai 181 

Disaffection  Driven  Underground 183 

Lord  Hardinge  Bombed 184 


CONTENTS  xxiii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

V.  Types  of  Nationalists 187 

The  Extremists 187 

A  Few  Nihilists 189 

Religious  Extremists        189 

The  Mother  Worshippers 100 

Vedantists 191 

Advocates  of  Organised  Rebellion 195 

Har  Dayal 195 

Hardayalism :    Advocation  of  Full  Swaraj       .     .     .  199 

Political  Freedom  the  First  Condition  of  Life  .     .     .  200 

Arabinda  Ghosh  —  Vedantist  and  Swarajist     .     .     .  205 

Ganesh  Vinayak  Savarkar 210 

The  Terrorists        211 

Advocates  of  Constructive  Nationalisation  ....  212 

Independence,  but  not  at  Once 212 

Preparing  the  Nation  for  Freedom 213 

Preparatory  Work  from  Below 214 

Brahmo  Samaj ;  Arya  Samaj ;  Ramakrishna  Mission   .  215 

The  Moderates 216 

Gokhale         216 

Congress  Leaders        219 

Passive  Resisters 219 

VI.  Indian  Nationalism  and  the  World-Forces    .     .  221 

Inspiration  through  European  Nationalism  ....  221 
History  of  Modern  Europe  Tabooed  in  Universities     .  221 

Italian-Turko   War 222 

Interpretation  of  India  to  Western  World  ....  223 
Tagorism 223 

VIL    The  Religious  and  the  Communal  Elements  in 

Indian  Nationalism 225 

Mohammedan  Revulsion  of  Feeling  against  the  Brit- 
ish     226 

Disaffection  arnong  the  Sikhs 228 


xxiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIII.    The  Future 230 

Change  in  Indian  Life  and  Depth  of  Nationalism     .  230 
Nationalism  Fertilised  by  Blood  of  Martyrs     .     .     .  232 

Wave  of  Indian  Nationalism  is  on 233 

Propitiation  and  Petty  Concessions  Futile    ....  234 
Internal  Division  no  Valid  Plea  for  Continuance  of 

British  Rule 235 

Illiteracy  the  Fault  of  the  British  and  no  Bar  to  Self- 
government    237 

Internal  Troubles 238 

Unfitness  of  Orientals  for  Representative  Institutions  238 

Nationalism  Has  Come  to  Stay 238 

Curzons,    Macdonnels,    Sydenhams,    Responsible    for 
Bombs  and  Revolvers 240 

A  Short  Bibliography  of  Books  in  English    ....  241 

Appendices 

Feudatory  Chiefs  Powerless 243 

Gross  Insults  to  Indians 243 

Industrial  Ruin  of  India;  Gokhale 244 

India  a  Mere  Possession;  Gokhale 244 

Masses  Starved;  Sir  C.  A.  Elliot,  Sir  W.  W.  Hunter, 

William  Digby 244 

Seventy  Million  Continually  Hungry  People  in  Brit- 
ish India;  William  Digby 245 

Total  Area  under  Cultivation 245 

Famines  of  Money;  not  Food;  Lord  George  Hamilton  245 

Causes  of  Famines 246 

Drain ;  Montgomery  Martin  and  Digby 246 

Enormous  Foreign  Tribute;  Rev.  J.  T.  Sunderland     .  246 
Government  Assessment  too  High;  Sir  W.  Hunter     .  246 

The  Ryot;  Herbert  Compton 246 

Indian  Plunder;  Adam  Brooks 247 

Swami  Abhedananda 247 

Mfred  Webb    ...,,, 247 


CONTENTS  xxv 

PAGE 

"Narrow  and  Shortsighted  Imperial  Policy;"  Sir  A. 

R.  Colquehoun 248 

Taxation;  Lord  Salisbury 248 

Plague,  Deaths  from 249 

Death  Rate        249 

Indian  Finance 249 

Land  Tax 249 

Income  Tax 250 

Customs        250 

Trade  Figures  for  1913  to  1914 251 

Personnel  of  the  Government 251 

Figures  About  Education  and  Literacy 253 

The  Flogging  of  Political  Prisoners 253 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Ram  Mohan  Roy 

Facing  page 

III 

Swami  Vivekananda 

it        ti 

115 

Bal  Ganga  Dhar  Tilak 

(t        u 

l62 

Arabinda  Ghosh 

(C                  (C 

172 

Lajpat  Rai 

(I            << 

l8l 

Har  Dayal 

i(           it 

195 

G.  K.  Gokhale 

11                  £C 

2l6 

XXVI 


INTRODUCTION 


During  my  travels  in  the  world,  the  one  point 
that  has  struck  me  most  forcibly  and  most  pain- 
fully, is  the  lack  of  true  knowledge  about  the  affairs 
of  India  among  the  "  civilised "  nations  of  the 
globe.  Even  the  best  educated  among  them  know 
very  little  about  India  and  what  little  they  know  is 
not  always  right.  The  sources  from  which  the  or- 
dinary stay-at-home  Westerner  derives  his  knowl- 
edge about  India  are  the  following:  (a)  mission- 
aries who  have  been  to  India,  (b)  English  writers 
of  the  class  of  Rudyard  Kipling  and  Sir  Valentine 
Chirol,  (c)  British  officials,  (d)  serious  students  of 
Indian  history  or  Indian  literature  like  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Max  Miiller,  the  late  Miss  Noble,  and  the 
late  Professor  Goldstucker. 

Now  unfortunately  for  India  most  of  these  peo- 
ple, except  those  coming  under  the  last  heading, 
have  generally  an  axe  to  grind  and  can  not  be  ac- 
cepted as  disinterested,  well-informed,  impartial  au- 
thorities. Their  reading  of  Indian  history  is  often 
perverted  and  their  observations  of  Indian  life  par- 
tial and  distorted.  They  go  to  India  with  definite 
aims,  look  at  persons  and  things  from  their  own 
particular  angle,  and  pose  as  authorities  on  matters 
far   beyond   the   scope   of    their   observations   and 


2  INTRODUCTION 

studies.  With  rare  exceptions  most  of  the  West- 
erners who  go  to  India  go  with  the  presumption 
that  the  people  of  India  belong  to  an  inferior  level 
of  society;  that  they  are  heathens,  worshippers  of 
stocks  and  stones;  that  they  are  hopelessly  divided 
into  castes  and  classes;  that  these  castes  and  classes 
are  always  at  each  other's  throats;  that  they  have 
never  had  a  settled  or  civilised  form  of  government; 
that  the  British  have  for  the  first  time  in  their  his- 
tory given  them  a  settled  government;  and  that 
India  would  go  to  pieces  if  British  government  were 
to  withdraw. 

Writers  about  India  may  again  be  broadly  sub- 
divided into  two  classes:  (a)  those  of  British  origin, 
(b)  those  of  non-British  origin.  Those  of  British 
origin  are  in  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred 
tainted  with  the  imperial  bias.  They  can  only  look 
at  things  from  the  imperial  or  British  point  of  view. 
Even  the  best  and  the  most  fair-minded  of  them  do 
not  altogether  succeed  in  freeing  themselves  from 
this  bias.  The  bias  acts  even  against  their  will. 
The  second  class  of  writers  are  affected  by  the 
racial  and  the  colour  bias.  Moreover,  nine  out  of 
ten  amongst  them  are  made  to  look  at  things  from 
the  British  point  of  view.  As  soon  as  they  land  at 
an  Indian  port,  they  are  taken  in  hand  by  the  British 
residents,  officials  and  non-officials,  and  practically 
the  whole  of  their  trip  is  arranged  for  them  by  the 
latter.  They  only  see  things  which  the  ruling  com- 
munity want  them  to  see  and  they  only  hear  and 
know  what  these  allow  them  to  hear  or  know.  The 
few    who    resolutely    refuse    to    be    thus    "  pro- 


INTRODUCTION  3 

grammed  "  do  sometimes  see  things  in  their  true 
light,  as  the  late  Mr.  Keir  Hardie,  M.P.,  and  Mr. 
H.  W.  Nevinson  did. 

In  this  connection  I  think  the  following  remarks 
of  the  latest  American  writer  on  India,  Professor 
Pratt  of  Williams  College,  Massachusetts,  in  his 
book  on  "  India  and  Its  Faiths  "  are  very  pertinent. 
Professor  Pratt  begins  by  warning  the  reader 
against  "  the  point  of  view  of  the  native  "  himself, 
as  well  as  against  "  those  European  writers  who 
seek  to  give  an  ultra  '  sympathetic  '  picture  of  In- 
dia." But  his  observations  about  the  other  two  of 
the  four  sources  of  information  mentioned  by  him 
are  extremely  interesting.     He  says : 

"  Much  greater  is  the  danger  that  we,  with  our 
Western  ideals  and  customs  so  different  from  those 
of  India,  should  go  to  the  other  extreme  and  take 
one  of  the  two  remaining  points  of  view  that  I  re- 
ferred to  above.  One  of  these  is  that  which  char- 
acterises a  certain  type  (now  happily  decreasing) 
of  earnest  but  narrow-minded  missionary."  The 
fourth  source  of  information,  which,  according  to 
Professor  Pratt,  "  one  should  regard  with  distrust," 
comprises  "  the  superficial  tourist  or  the  non-mis- 
sionary European  resident  in  India."  In  his  opin- 
ion this  source  is  particularly  dangerous,  for  "  it  is 
so  natural  to  suppose  that  one  of  our  own  race  who 
has  travelled  in  India  (and  especially  one  who  has 
lived  there  *  twenty-two  years ')  will  be  in  a  posi- 
tion to  know  all  about  it.  .  .  .  The  tourist's  igno- 
rance is  not  surprising,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  under- 
stand the  ignorance  of  the  average  European  resi- 


4  INTRODUCTION 

dent  in  India."  Professor  Pratt's  remarks  about 
the  "  average  European  resident,"  who  has  been 
"  twenty-two  years  "  in  India,  are  prefaced  by  an 
eulogistic  tribute  to  the  British  administration  of 
justice  in  India,  which  may  be  accepted  with  a  little 
salt.  The  administration  of  justice  in  India  is  im- 
partial and  as  fair  as  it  can  be  under  the  circum- 
stances, except  when  one  party  is  a  native  and  the 
other  a  Britisher.  What  concerns  us  here,  is  Pro- 
fessor Pratt's  opinion  about  the  resident  English- 
man's knowledge  of  India.  In  his  opinion  "  most 
of  the  Englishmen  "  whom  he  met  seemed  to  him 
"  singularly  lacking  in  curiosity  or  interest "  about 
"  Indian  thought,  religion,  traditions  and  ways  of 
viewing  things."  "  The  Anglo-Indian,"  adds  he, 
"  is  surprisingly  indifferent  towards  almost  every- 
thing native."  Professor  Pratt  illustrates  his  con- 
clusions by  actual  facts  which  came  under  his  ob- 
servation. One  English  gentleman  who  had  lived 
in  Calcutta  and  other  parts  of  the  East  for  many 
years,  said  to  the  professor :  "  The  natives  are  all 
just  a  lot  of  animals,  don't  you  think  so?"  No 
wonder  that  the  professor  had  to  say  that  his  im- 
pression was  quite  different.  For  him  it  was  hard 
to  conceive  how  one  "  could  stay  any  time  among 
them  without  finding  them  a  truly  lovable  people, 
and  without  imbibing  genuine  respect  and  admira- 
tion for  the  simple  dignity  of  their  lives,  the  quiet 
courtesy  of  their  manners,  their  uncomplaining  en- 
durance of  hardships,  their  unbounded  hospitality, 
and  the  feeling  for  spiritual  value,  which  in  spite  of 
gross   superstitions   is   unmistakable   in   the   Indian 


INTRODUCTION  5 

atmosphere."  Professor  Pratt's  "  Englishman " 
had  never  heard  of  a  Dr.  Bose,  "  one  of  the  greatest 
botanists  living,"  and  he  did  "  not  think  much  "  of 
Tagore's  poetry.  "  This  lack  of  interest  in  native 
life  as  such,"  continues  Mr.  Pratt,  "  and  the  proud 
manifestation  of  conscious  superiority  that  goes 
with  it,  shows  itself  in  the  coarser  natures  in  a  con- 
tempt for  the  '  black  man  '  and  '  a  constant  swagger 
of  putting  him  in  his  place.'  As  a  result  of  this 
indifference  to  and  contempt  for  the  natives,  most 
of  the  Anglo-Indians  that  I  know  anything  about 
are  very  ignorant  concerning  the  religions  of  India, 
and  decidedly  prejudiced  against  them.  Personally 
I  think  that  the  opinions  of  nine  Englishmen  out  of 
ten  on  the  subject  of  Indian  religions  are  entirely 
untrustworthy."  x 

Professor  Pratt  only  speaks  of  the  English  resi- 
dents' ignorance  of  Indian  religion,  but  I  am  dis- 
posed to  add  that  the  opinions  of  ninety-nine  out 
of  every  hundred  Anglo-Indians  on  the  nature  and 
effects  of  British  rule  in  India  and  the  capacity  of 
Indians  to  manage  their  own  affairs  are  equally 
"  untrustworthy."  Hence  the  colossal  ignorance 
which  prevails  in  the  West  about  what  is  happening 
in  India  politically  and  economically.  Just  think 
of  an  honest,  fair-minded  British  writer,  like  Lowes 
Dickinson,  presuming  to  write  about  political  life 
in  India  without  discussing  the  economic  effects  of 
British  rule. 

India  being  only  a  dependency,  her  affairs  do  not 
attract  that  attention  which  they  would  if  she  were 

1  The  italics  everywhere  in  this  quotation  are  mine. 


6  INTRODUCTION 

a  self-governing  country.  The  British  Parliament 
disposes  of  the  Indian  affairs  by  an  annual  discus- 
sion of  a  few  hours  in  an  extremely  thin  house. 
The  last  time  the  British  House  of  Commons  dis- 
cussed an  important  measure  affecting  India,  viz. : 
one  by  which  it  was  proposed  to  suspend  the  Indian 
Civil  Service  examination  pending  the  war  and  to 
authorise  the  Secretary  of  State  in  Council  to  make 
appointments  by  nomination,  the  maximum  attend- 
ance, it  is  said,  never  exceeded  28.  This  measure 
was  condemned  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  In- 
dian native  press,  yet  there  was  nobody  in  the 
House  to  give  expression  to  their  views  in  the  mat- 
ter. The  author,  himself,  has  attended  the  sittings 
of  the  House  in  different  years,  when  the  India 
budget  was  under  discussion  and  can  testify  from 
personal  knowledge  that  the  attendance  was  always 
very  scanty  and  the  speeches,  often,  poor. 

Yet  the  fact  that  India  is  inhabited  by  about  one- 
fifth  of  the  whole  human  race  and  that  her  trading 
capacity  is  simply  unlimited,  entitles  her  to  a  fuller 
consideration  at  the  hands  of  the  civilised  world. 
Leaving  aside  her  past,  it  can  not  be  doubted  that 
she  is  destined  to  play  a  great  part  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  near  future.  As  such,  the  writer  has 
presumed  that  the  following  brief  account  of  the 
rise  and  development  of  the  Indian  Nationalist 
Movement  may  not  be  devoid  of  interest  to  British 
and  American  readers.  The  book  is  of  course  open 
to  the  objection  that  it  is  written  by  a  "  native," 
but  in  the  eyes  of  impartial  investigators  that  should 
be  its  merit.     The  writer  has  been  closely  associated 


INTRODUCTION  7 

with  the  movement  for  the  last  thirty-three  years  of 
his  life,  in  almost  all  its  phases,  religious,  social, 
educational,  industrial  and  political.  It  was  in 
1888  that  he  joined  the  Indian  National  Congress, 
the  official  organisation  of  the  "  constitutional " 
nationalists,  i.e.,  only  four  years  after  it  was 
started. 

In  the  following  pages  he  has  tried  to  give  as 
faithful  an  account  of  the  origin  and  progress  of 
the  movement  as  is  possible  under  the  circumstances. 
The  one  fact  which  qualifies  him  to  interpret  the 
Indian  Nationalist  Movement  is  that  his  position 
has  always  been  more  or  less  detached.  He  has 
generally  had  the  confidence  of  all  sections  as 
far  as  the  broad  outlines  of  their  policy  were  con- 
cerned, without  identifying  himself  with  each  and 
every  item  of  their  respective  programmes.  When- 
ever occasionally  or  incidentally  he  has  happened  to 
know  of  any  projected  violence,  without  exception 
he  has  used  his  influence  toward  restraint.  By  a 
timely  exercise  of  his  influence  he  once  (1908) 
succeeded  in  saving  the  lives  of  one  Lieutenant 
Governor  and  one  College  Principal.  The  conduct 
of  the  British  in  India  and  their  denial  of  the  funda- 
mental rights  of  the  people,  however,  continue  to 
add  fuel  to  the  fire  and  make  it  impossible  for  the 
friends  of  the  constitutional  movement  to  stop  or 
effectually  check  the  employment  of  physical  force. 
Personally  the  writer  is  disposed  to  agree  with  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  Punjab,  who  said  the 
other  day,  that  open  rebellion  was  morally  less  hei- 
nous than  a  campaign  of  underhand  violence  by 


8  INTRODUCTION 

bombs  and  revolvers ;  but  what  the  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor forgot  to  notice  was  that  open  rebellion  by  a 
subject  people  must  always,  in  the  nature  of  things, 
be  preceded  by  secret  propaganda  and  secret  prep- 
arations. Secret  preparations  in  a  country  like 
India,  access  to  which  is  on  all  sides  controlled  by 
the  British,  are  bound  to  bring  in  the  use  of  ex- 
plosives and  the  taking  of  measures  which  might 
paralyse  the  administration  and  weaken  its  hold  on 
the  people.  If  a  Government  muzzles  its  people, 
shuts  out  all  open  avenues  of  political  propaganda, 
denies  them  the  use  of  firearms  and  otherwise  stands 
in  the  way  of  a  free  agitation  for  political  changes, 
it  is  doubtful  if  it  can  reasonably  complain  of  secret 
plots  and  secret  propaganda  as  distinguished  from 
open  rebellion. 

The  American  press  has  of  late  been  giving  out 
different  versions  of  the  political  situation  in  India. 
One  version  affirms  that  India  is  on  the  point  of  re- 
bellion; the  other  that  India  is  devotedly  loyal. 
Both  statements  are  partially  true  and  both  are  par- 
tially false.  India  is  not  devotedly  loyal,  yet  to  all 
appearances  she  is  so.  Nor  is  India  on  the  verge 
of  rebellion,  though  she  is  full  of  rebellious  spirit. 
It  is  preposterous  to  contend  that  her  expressions 
of  loyalty  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war  are  proof  that 
she  is  satisfied  with  British  rule  as  it  is.  The  anti- 
British  movement  is  spreading  and  gaining  strength 
every  day,  and  it  is  impossible  for  the  British  Gov- 
ernment without  the  aid  of  the  Indian  people  to  up- 
root what  the  British  are  pleased  to  characterise  as 
"  Anarchism." 


INTRODUCTION 


ii 


Among  other  criticisms,  to  which  this  book  may 
be  subjected,  I  anticipate  one  or  two  on  historical 
grounds  which  I  would  like  to  answer  beforehand. 
It  may  be  said  that  I  have  painted  the  early  history 
of  India  as  "  a  golden  age  ";  that  my  references  to 
Chandra  Gupta  and  Asoka  show  only  the  bright 
side  of  the  shield  and  that  I  have  throughout  as- 
sumed that  India  is,  and  has  always  been,  a  political 
unity.  Now  in  considering  this  criticism,  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that  my  sole  object  in  referring 
to  the  past  history  of  India  is  to  show  to  my  reader 
that  India  was  not  a  barbarous  country  when  the 
British  obtained  possession  of  her,  that  she  has  had 
a  long  and  in  some  respects  a  glorious  history;  that 
she  was  never  before  governed  by  foreigners  from 
without  in  the  political  and  economic  interests  of  a 
nation  not  living  within  her  territorial  limits,  as  she 
has  been  and  is  being  governed  under  the  British. 
Whatever  may  be  my  personal  opinions  about  an- 
cient India  and  her  civilisation,  I  have  sufficient 
knowledge  of  the  Occident  to  understand  that  the 
Western  reader  is  liable  to  have  some  hesitancy 
about  accepting  them  in  all  cases  as  historical  truths. 
I  have  therefore  carefully  avoided  making  any  state- 
ments for  which  I  can  not  cite  good  authority. 
The  statements  made  may  be  roughly  divided  into 
three  kinds:  (i)  those  relating  to  pre-Buddhist 
India,  (2)  those  relating  to  India  of  500  B.C.  to 
about  1000  a.  d.,  (3)  those  relating  to  India  of  Mo- 
hammedan domination. 


io  INTRODUCTION 

Now,  as  regards  the  first,  we  have  no  strictly  his- 
torical data  and  the  statements  are  based  on  the 
contents  of  the  literature  of  the  period,  viz.,  the  re- 
ligious treatises,  the  law  books  of  the  Hindus,  and 
the  epics.  There  is  enough  in  this  mass  of  litera- 
ture to  justify  the  modest  statements  made  in  the 
first  chapter  of  this  book  about  that  period  of  In- 
dian history,  and,  if  necessary,  I  would  be  able  to 
quote  good  authority  for  every  statement  made  by 
me.  Coming  to  the  next  period,  viz.,  from  500  b.  c. 
to  1000  a.  d.,  we  have  enough  historical  data  in  the 
writings  of  the  Greeks,  the  Chinese  and  the  Moham- 
medans to  justify  the  general  statements  made.  It 
may  be  that  my  statements  about  this  period  are  not 
complete,  but  tjiat  is  because  I  am  not  writing  a  his- 
tory of  the  period.  I  am  only  making  an  incidental 
reference  for  the  purposes  of  this  volume.  For 
these  purposes  it  is  not  necessary  to  trace  the  origin 
of  Chandra  Gupta's  rule,  or  to  state  his  motives  for 
instituting  a  department  of  commerce  or  a  depart- 
ment of  vital  statistics.  Chandra  Gupta  himself 
may  have  been  a  "  villain,"  but  there  is  ample  his- 
torical data  for  an  historian  like  Vincent  Smith  2 — 
a  retired  Indian  Civil  Servant  by  no  means  partial 
to  India  3 —  to  conclude  that  "  the  foregoing  review 
of  the  civil  and  the  military  system  of  government 
during  the  reign  of  Chandra  Gupta  proves  clearly 
that  Northern  India  in  the  time  of  Alexander  the 

2  See  Vincent  Smith's  "  Early  History  of  India,"  third  edi- 
tion, p.  135. 

3  "  Mr.  Vincent  Smith  is  always  anxious  to  deprive  India 
of  the  credit  of  all  her  achievements  in  art  and  literature." 
Indian  Historical  Studies  by  Prof.  H.  D.  G.  Rawlinson,  p.  227. 


INTRODUCTION  n 

Great  had  attained  to  a  high  degree  of  civilisation 
which  must  have  been  the  product  of  evolution  con- 
tinued through  many  centuries.''  4 

As  for  Asoka,  Vincent  Smith  has  discredited  the 
stories  of  his  having  been  guilty  of  excesses  as- 
cribed to  his  early  career  by  other  historians.  In 
any  case,  all  historians  are  unanimous  about  the  ex- 
cellence of  his  administration.  "  The  lofty  moral 
tone  of  these  edicts"  (*.  e.,  Asoka's  edicts),  says 
Rawlinson  (page  27  of  "  Indian  Historical  Studies") , 
"  indicates  clearly  enough  that  India  in  the  third 
century  b.  c.  was  a  highly  civilised  country ;  it  must, 
indeed,  have  compared  favourably  with  the  rest  of 
the  world  of  the  time ;  for  Greece  was  sinking  fast 
into  a  state  of  corrupt  decadence,  and  Rome,  in  the 
throes  of  her  struggle  with  Carthage,  had  scarcely 
yet  emerged  from  barbarism."  No  Indian  need 
make  any  higher  claim  than  this  for  the  India  of 
the  third  century  b.  c.  Finally,  as  about  the  po- 
litical unity  of  India  in  the  past,  let  it  be  noted  that 
I  do  not  claim  that  India  was  always  united  under 
one  political  authority  or  even  under  one  political 
system.  At  the  same  time  it  is  equally  untrue  that 
India  was  never  a  political  unity.  Most  of  the 
British  writers  are  disposed  to  deny  that  there  has 
been  or  is  any  kind  of  unity  in  India.  This  may  be 
disposed  of  by  the  following  quotation  from  Vin- 
cent Smith's  "  Early  History  of  India  "  (page  5)  : 
"  India,  encircled  as  she  is  by  seas  and  mountains, 
is  indisputably  a  geographical  unit,  and,  as  such,  is 
rightly  designated  by  one  name.  Her  type  of 
4  The  italics  in  the  above  quotation  are  mine. 


12  INTRODUCTION 

civilisation,  too,  has  many  features  which  differ- 
entiate it  from  that  of  all  other  regions  of  the 
world,  while  they  are  common  to  the  whole  coun- 
try, or  rather  sub-continent,  in  a  degree  sufficient  to 
justify  its  treatment  as  a  unity  in  the  history  of  the 
social,  religious  and  intellectual  development  of 
mankind."  5  He  adds,  however,  that  "  the  com- 
plete political  unity  of  India  under  the  control  of  a 
permanent  power,  wielding  unquestioned  authority, 
is  a  thing  of  yesterday,  barely  a  century  old.  The 
most  notable  of  her  rulers  in  the  olden  time  cher- 
ished the  ambition  of  universal  Indian  dominion, 
and  severally  attained  it  in  a  greater  or  lesser  de- 
gree; not  one  of  them,  however,  attained  it  com- 
pletely." The  point  admits  of  great  controversy 
and  anything  like  a  proper  discussion  would  add  to 
the  bulk  of  this  book  so  much  as  would  be  out  of 
proportion  to  its  bearing  on  the  main  subject.  Mr. 
Vincent  Smith  admits  that  Asoka's  Empire  included 
the  whole  of  India  proper  except  a  tiny  bit  of  the 
Southern  peninsula  lying  between  Nellore  and  Cape 
Comorin.  (See  map  of  Asoka's  Empire  in  his  his- 
tory, between  pages  162-163.)  The  exclusion  of 
this  bit  is  based  not  on  any  positive  evidence  that 
this  part  was  not  included  within  his  empire,  but  on 
the  absence  of  positive  evidence  to  the  contrary.  It 
is  as  if  men  living  two  thousand  years  after  our  day 
should  expect  it  to  be  proved  to  their  satisfaction 

5  See  also  Mr.  E.  B.  Havell's  Ideals  of  Indian  Art,  pp.  11-12. 
Mr.  Havell's  conclusion  is :  "  We  may  see  if  we  have  eyes  to 
see,  that  all  India  is  one  in  spirit,  however  diverse  in  race  and 
in  creed." 


INTRODUCTION  13 

by  positive  documentary  evidence  that  every  bit  of 
India  was  included  in  the  British  Empire  under 
Queen  Victoria.  Again,  the  fact  that  Asoka's  Em- 
pire did  not  include  the  Southernmost  part  of  the 
Indian  Peninsula  was  more  than  compensated  by 
the  inclusion  of  almost  the  whole  of  Afghanistan 
and  Beluchistan  and  Nepal  in  his  dominions.  The 
territories  comprising  the  kingdom  of  Nepal  are  not 
included  in  the  British  Empire,  although  they  con- 
stitute a  necessary  part  of  India.  Yet  even  Vincent 
Smith  does  not  doubt  that  India  is  a  political  unity 
to-day. 

Then  again  it  is  only  very  recently  that  he  and 
other  historians  have  found  out  the  data  for  a  his- 
tory of  the  Gupta  Empire  from  320  to  455  a.  d., 
about  the  extent  of  which  he  says: 

"  The  dominions  under  the  direct  government  of 
Samundra  Gupta  in  the  middle  of  the  fourth  cen- 
tury thus  comprised  all  the  populous  and  fertile 
countries  of  Northern  India.  .  .  .  Beyond  those 
wide  limits  the  frontier  kingdoms  of  Assam  and  the 
Gangetic  delta  as  well  as  those  on  the  southern 
slopes  of  the  Himalayas  and  the  free  tribes  of 
Malwa  and  Rajputana  were  attached  to  the  Empire 
by  bonds  of  subordinate  alliance ;  while  almost  all 
the  kingdoms  of  the  South  had  been  overrun  by  the 
Emperor's  armies  and  compelled  to  acknowledge 
his  irresistible  might. 

"  Whatever  may  have  been  the  exact  degree  of 
skill  attained  by  Samundra  Gupta  in  the  practice  of 
the  arts  which  graced  his  scanty  leisure,  it  is  clear 


i4  INTRODUCTION 

that  he  was  endowed  with  no  ordinary  powers ;  and 
that  he  was  in  fact  a  man  of  genius,  who  may  fairly 
claim  the  title  of  the  Indian  Napoleon. 

"By  a  strange  irony  of  fate  this  great  king  — 
warrior,  poet,  and  musician  —  who  conquered 
nearly  all  India,  and  whose  alliances  extended  from 
the  Oxus  to  Ceylon  —  was  unknown  even  by  name 
to  the  historians  until  the  publication  of  this  work.6 
His  lost  fame  has  been  slowly  recovered  by  the 
minute  and  laborious  study  of  inscriptions  and 
coins  during  the  last  eighty  years." 

It  may  be  mentioned,  in  passing,  that  monarchs 
of  the  Samundra  Gupta  type,  who  may  be  compared 
easily  with  a  Charlemagne,  a  Frederick  or  a  Peter 
the  Great,  have  flourished  in  India  almost  every 
second  generation.  Hindu  folk-lore  has  known 
them  as  Vikramadityas  (Suns  of  Power)  and  has 
invested  their  names  with  "  the  halo  of  Arthurian 
romance."  And  this  was  a  time  in  the  history  of 
the  world  when  Egypt  and  Babylon  had  already 
passed  away,  when  China  was  in  a  state  of  "  an- 
archy," when  the  Roman  Empire  was  under  the 
heels  of  the  barbarians,  and  when  the  Saracenic  Em- 
pire (Caliphate)  had  not  yet  come  into  existence. 
England,  France  and  Germany  were  simply  non  est. 

Now,  the  history  of  India  before  iooo  a.  d.  has 
not  yet  been  completely  constructed,  and  who  knows 
but  that  by  future  researches  some  other  Samundra 
Guptas  may  be  discovered?  But  in  any  case,  the 
point  is  not  so  very  important.  In  that  sense  even 
now,  India  may  not  be  called  a  complete  political 

6  First  Edition,  Clarendon  Press,  Oxford,  1905. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

unity.  It  was  not  so  in  1830  a.  d.  Up  till  1849 
the  Punjab  was  independent  and  so  were  the  other 
provinces  annexed  by  Lord  Dalhousie.  So  Vincent 
Smith's  claim,  that  it  has  been  so  since  1818  a.  d.7 
is  not  well  founded.  What  is  more  important  for 
our  purpose  is  the  present  and  the  future.  It  is 
claimed  that  under  the  British,  India  is  a  political 
unity  though  Nepal  is  still  independent. 

The  critics  of  Indian  aspirations  are  very  unfair, 
when  they  compare  the  India  of  the  seventeenth  or 
the  eighteenth  or  even  of  the  nineteenth  century 
with  Great  Britain,  Germany,  France  and  United 
States  of  the  twentieth.  They  forget  that  the  po- 
litical nations  known  by  these  names  are  only  the 
growth  of  yesterday.  India  is  as  big  as  the  whole 
of  Europe  excluding  Russia.  Yet  what  was  Eu- 
rope before  the  nineteenth  century?  It  was  a  big 
camp  of  warring  nations  and  warring  religions,  en- 
gaged in  exterminating  and  persecuting  each  other 
alternately.  India  was  more  or  less  a  political 
unity  when  Great  Britain  was  smarting  under  the 
heels  of  the  Romans.  It  took  the  British  over  1600 
years  to  establish  their  present  political  unity. 
Compare  the  following  account  of  "  England  under 
foreign  rule"  (1013-1204),  given  by  Green  in  his 
"  Short  History  of  the  English  People,"  with  the 
condition  of  things  in  India  from  the  time  of  Sa- 
mundra  Gupta  onwards. 

"  Britain  had  become  England  in  the  five  hundred 
years  that  followed  the  landing  of  Hengest,  and  its 

7  See  footnote  to  p.  5,  of  his  "  Early   History  of   India," 
3rd  ed. 


16  INTRODUCTION 

conquest  had  ended  in  the  settlement  of  its  con- 
querors. .  .  .  But  whatever  titles  kings  might  as- 
sume, or  however  imposing  their  rule  might  appear, 
Northumbrian  remained  apart  from  West  Saxon, 
Dane  from  Englishman. 

"  Through  the  two  hundred  years  that  lie  be- 
tween the  flight  of  Aethelred  from  England  to  Nor- 
mandy and  that  of  John  from  Normandy  to  Eng- 
land our  story  is  a  story  of  foreign  rule.  Kings 
from  Denmark  were  succeeded  by  kings  from  Nor- 
mandy, and  these  by  kings  from  Anjou.  Under 
Dane,  Norman,  or  Angevin,  Englishmen  were  a 
subject  race,  conquered  and  ruled  by  foreign  mas- 
ters; and  yet  it  was  in  these  years  of  subjection  that 
England  first  became  really  England.  .  .  .  The 
English  Lords  themselves  sank  into  a  middle  class 
as  they  were  pushed  from  their  place  by  a  foreign 
baronage  who  settled  on  English  soil." 

"  In  800  a.  d.,"  says  Mr.  West,  in  his  modern 
history,  revised  edition,  page  4,  "  Europe  was  still 
sunk  deep  in  the  barbarism  that  followed  the  long 
anarchy  of  the  invasions,  and  the  brief  revival  of 
Charlemagne  had  not  gone  far  toward  restoring 
civilisation.  Schools  and  learning  were  almost  ex- 
tinct; commerce  hardly  existed;  communication  be- 
tween district  and  district  was  almost  impossible; 
money  was  so  scarce  that  revenue  had  to  be  col- 
lected in  produce;  and  manners  and  morals  were 
alike  deplorable."  There  has  been  hardly  any 
period  in  the  history  of  India  about  which  anything 
so  disparaging  can  be  said.  Again  says  Mr.  West, 
"  From  814  to  about  1100,  Europe  had  three  cen- 


INTRODUCTION  17 

turies  of  '  Dark  Ages,'  caused  by  a  new  series  of 
barbarian  invasions  and  continued  by  '  feudal '  vio- 
lence of  the  local  military  organisation  that  society 
adopted  to  ward  off  these  invasions."  In  fact 
Europe  was  in  constant  war  right  up  to  1870,  and 
the  idea  of  nationhood  had  not  developed  till  late 
in  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  then  not  right  to 
taunt  the  Indians  with  the  absence  of  a  perfected 
nationality  in  their  country.  Yet  it  can  not  be  de- 
nied that  the  idea  of  nationhood  is  being  developed 
pretty  fast  in  India,  even  on  modern  lines.  In  fact 
I  maintain  that  fundamentally  India  has  been  a  na- 
tion for  the  last  2000  years,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
at  times  it  has  been  divided  into  several  kingdoms 
and  principalities,  sometimes  under  a  common 
empire  and  in  other  times  independent  of  each 
other. 

But  even  if  the  worst  happens  and  India  is  split 
up  into  a  number  of  political  units,  what  then?  To 
me  this  does  not  appear  to  be  so  appalling  as  it  may 
seem  to  others.  Some  Indians  think  that  in  any 
case  it  is  better  to  be  men  fighting  their  own  battles 
than  to  be  mere  creatures  always  in  the  leading 
strings  of  others.  They  have  no  faith  in  "  peace  at 
any  price  "  or  in  "  peace  under  any  circumstances." 

in 

This  book  was  written  when  I  was  travelling  in 
the  United  States  from  January  to  May,  19 15.  It 
was  ready  for  the  press  in  June,  191 5.  Its  publica- 
tion has  been  delayed  by  causes  which  need  not  be 
stated. 


18  INTRODUCTION 

Since  then  much  has  happened  in  India  which 
bears  upon  the  subject  and  might  briefly  be  referred 
to  here. 

Early  in  191 5  something  like  organised  anarchy 
and  disorder  broke  out  in  the  Southwestern  districts 
of  the  Punjab,  resulting  in  the  free  looting  of  many 
villages  in  several  districts.  This  lawlessness  was 
due  to  war.  It  is  said  that  the  police  and  the  offi- 
cers were  overtaken  by  panic  and  order  was  not  re- 
stored until  strong  measures  were  taken  from  the 
headquarters.  About  4000  persons  were  arrested 
in  connection  with  these  disturbances  and  some  800 
of  them  were  sentenced  to  different  terms  of  im- 
prisonment, the  rest  being  acquitted  for  want  of  evi- 
dence. 

Towards  the  end  of  19 14  and  in  the  first  few 
months  of  191 5  the  Punjab  was  the  scene  of  many 
dacoities  and  murders,  committed  by  and  under  the 
inspiration  of  Indians  who  had  returned  to  India 
from  abroad  to  take  advantage  of  the  war  situation 
for  political  purposes.  Some  of  these  persons  had 
gone  from  Canada;  some  from  China;  and  some 
from  the  Pacific  Coast  of  the  United  States. 
Amongst  them  were  a  large  number  of  those  who 
had  been  refused  admission  into  Canada  by  the  Ca- 
nadian authorities  and  who  had  suffered  enor- 
mously by  their  trip  to  Canada  and  back.  The  first 
clash  between  the  latter  and  the  Government  took 
place  at  Budge  Budge,8  in  Bengal,  where  the  re- 
turned emigrants  from  Canada  landed  in  order  to 
proceed  to  their  homes  in  the  Punjab.     The  Gov- 

8  A  town  on  the  Eastern  Coast  of  India. 


INTRODUCTION  19 

ernment  wanted  to  restrict  their  freedom  of  move- 
ment and  would  not  let  them  go  to  Calcutta, 
whither  a  number  of  them  wanted  to  proceed. 
These  persons  had  concealed  arms  in  their  posses- 
sion, and  it  appears  that  there  was  a  free  fight  be- 
tween them  and  the  police,  resulting  in  fatal  casual- 
ties on  both  sides.  About  this  time  or  a  little  later, 
the  Government  of  India  passed  a  special  law,  au- 
thorising officials  to  intern  or  imprison  any  person 
or  persons  in  British  India  without  trial,  on  mere 
suspicion  of  his  or  their  being  dangerous  to  the 
tranquillity  of  the  country.  Under  this  law  they 
began  to  intern  a  large  number  of  those  who  had 
returned  from  Canada  and  the  United  States  and 
other  places  outside  India,  until  the  number  reached 
to  thousands.  Most  of  them,  perhaps,  were  kept 
only  under  surveillance.  Yet  a  good  many  of 
them  managed  to  put  themselves  into  communi- 
cation with  the  revolutionary  party  in  India  and 
eventually  organised  a  "  widespread  conspiracy  "  to 
subvert  British  rule.  The  Government  discovered 
this  conspiracy  by  means  of  spies,  who  entered  into 
the  designs  of  the  conspirators  as  "  agents  provo- 
cateurs." It  appears  from  the  evidence  subse- 
quently given  before  the  special  tribunal  appointed 
to  try  those  who  were  arrested  in  connection  with 
this  conspiracy,  that  their  plans  were  laid  out  on 
a  comprehensive  scale,  with  everything  organised 
in  a  perfect  way;  that  full  provision  had  been  made 
for  finances  as  well  as  arms,  and  that  the  army  had 
been  approached  with  more  or  less  success  at  dif- 
ferent places  in  Northern  India.     At  first  a  batch 


20  INTRODUCTION 

of  about  65  were  placed  for  trial  before  the  special 
tribunal  consisting  of  two  English  judges  and  one 
Indian.  This  tribunal  was  formed  under  the  spe- 
cial law  referred  to  above,  and  its  decision  was  to 
be  final  in  the  sense  that  no  appeal  could  be  made 
from  it  to  any  other  superior  court.  The  tribunal 
eventually  found  that  the  conspiracy  was  seditious 
in  its  nature,  and  but  for  its  timely  discovery  would 
have  resulted  in  "  widespread  disaster."  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  tribunal  were  not  open  to  the  public 
nor  to  the  press.  A  brief  report  of  the  proceedings 
was  issued  from  day  to  day  under  the  authority  of 
the  tribunal.  Some  of  the  accused  could  not  be 
found.  Out  of  the  61  charged,  only  4  were  ac- 
quitted, 6  were  sentenced  to  various  terms  of  im- 
prisonment, 27  to  transportation  for  life,9  and  24 
to  death.10  Commenting  on  this  trial,  the  Lieuten- 
ant Governor  of  the  Punjab  observed  in  the  course 
of  a  speech  made  in  the  Punjab  Legislative  Council 
held  on  September  25,  191 5,  that  "  these  crimes  did 
all  over  the  Central  Punjab  from  November,  1914, 
to  July,  191 5,  create  a  state  not  only  of  alarm  and 
insecurity,  but  of  terror  and  even  panic,  and  if  they 
had  not  been  promptly  checked  by  the  firm  hand  of 
authority  and  the  active  co-operation  of  the  people, 
would  have  produced  in  the  province  as  was  in- 
tended by  the  conspirators  a  state  of  affairs  similar 
to  that  of  Hindustan  in  the  mutiny11 — paralysis 

9  Some  of  these  sentences  have  been  reduced. 

10  In  16  cases  these  sentences  have  been  commuted  to  life- 
long imprisonment  not  out  of  mercy  as  the  Viceroy  has  him- 
self officially  pointed  out,  but  in  consideration  of  the  evidence. 

11  The  great  mutiny  of  1857,  of  which  more  hereafter. 


INTRODUCTION  21 

of  authority,  widespread  terrorism  and  murder  not 
only  of  the  officers  of  the  Government  but  of  loyal 
and  well  disposed  subjects."  What  is  significant 
is,  that  the  leader,  Rash  Behari  Bose,  a  Bengalee, 
who  had  organised  several  such  conspiracies,  es- 
caped. Commenting  upon  the  same  trial,  the  Times 
of  India,  an  influential  Anglo-Indian  paper  pub- 
lished in  Bombay,  remarked: 

"  If  this  conspiracy  had  been  disclosed  in  or- 
dinary times  there  might  have  been  a  tendency  to 
regard  the  members  as  representative  of  a  consider- 
able class  of  India  .  .  .  but,  as  it  is,  the  revolu- 
tionary party  stands  out  a  mere  fraction  of  the 
population,  a  dangerous  and  determined  section  of 
the  population  perhaps,  yet  so  small  that  it  can  not 
command  any  chance  of  success  while  the  sentiment 
of  the  country  remains  what  it  has  been  so  splen- 
didly proved  to  be." 

Commenting  upon  the  severity  of  the  sentences 
inflicted,  the  Indian  press  took  occasion  to  point  out 
the  grievous  wrongs  under  which  the  country  suf- 
fered at  the  hands  of  the  British.  After  the  con- 
clusion of  this  case,  over  100  persons  more  were  in- 
dicted at  Lahore  lla  and  a  very  large  number  at  Be- 
nares, in  connection  with  the  same  conspiracy.  Be- 
sides, a  number  of  men  belonging  to  the  military 
were  tried  and  convicted  in  different  stations  in 
Northern  India. 

In  Bengal  political  crime  was  rampant  in  a  viru- 

lla  Six  of  them  have  been  sentenced  to  death,  45  to  transpor- 
tation for  life,  some  to  imprisonment  and  some  have  been 
acquitted. 


22  INTRODUCTION 

lent  form  throughout  191 5.  The  Bengalee  revolu- 
tionaries have  kept  the  Government  pretty  busy  all 
along  the  line,  murdering  police  officials,  looting 
treasuries,  and  committing  dacoities,  sometimes 
under  the  very  nose  of  the  police  in  the  heart  of 
the  metropolis,  resulting  occasionally  in  so-called 
pitched  battles  between  the  police  and  the  revolu- 
tionaries. Numberless  trials  have  been  going  on 
in  special  tribunals  constituted  under  the  Defense  of 
India  Act,  as  well  as  in  the  ordinary  courts.  Large 
numbers  of  persons  have  been  punished  and  equally 
large  numbers  are  still  undergoing  trial. 

There  was  a  serious  rising  in  Singapore,  which 
was  eventually  put  down  with  the  help  of  the  Japa- 
nese and  French  troops,  and  in  connection  with 
which  a  good  many  European  lives  were  lost. 
Similarly,  men  smuggling  arms  and  seditious  litera- 
ture, or  attempting  to  smuggle  arms,  or  otherwise 
carrying  on  anti-British  propaganda,  have  been  dis- 
covered, arrested  and  held  in  Burma,  Singapore, 
Hongkong,  Shanghai  and  Ceylon.  A  large  number 
of  Indians  are  in  internment  in  Hongkong.  Two 
Indian  revolutionaries  were  deported  from  Japan, 
at  the  instance  of  the  British  Government,  and  sev- 
eral have  been,  I  hear,  interned  in  Java  by  the  or- 
ders of  the  Dutch  Government.  Har  Dayal  and 
several  others  have  been  active  in  Europe  and  Asia 
Minor.  The  Hindu  revolutionaries  in  the  United 
States  have  also  been  busy  in  their  propaganda.  It 
is  said  that  the  Germans  have  been  helping  the  In- 
dians with  funds  and  arms.  How  far  they  did 
render  any  substantial  help  in  this  matter  is  not 


INTRODUCTION  23 

known,  but  the  conclusion  of  the  Lahore  Special 
Tribunal,  that  it  was  known  to  the  leaders  of  the 
"  Gadar  "  party  in  San  Francisco  in  1914,  that  a 
war  between  the  British  and  Germans  was  on  the 
tapis  in  August  of  that  year,  appears  to  be  without 
foundation.  The  Indians  who  left  the  United 
States  in  1914  to  organise  a  rebellion  in  India,  were 
neither  financed  nor  otherwise  inspired  by  the  Ger- 
mans. They  went  of  their  own  accord,  with  their 
own  money  and  on  their  own  hook.  Some  of  them 
were  men  of  means.  It  may  be  true,  however,  that 
the  Germans  have  helped  the  Indian  revolutionaries 
with  money  and  arms  since.  So  much  about  the 
revolutionaries. 

IV 

Now  something  about  the  activity  of  the  other 
wing  of  the  Indian  nationalists.  When  the  war 
started,  all  of  them  declared  for  England,  some  sin- 
cerely, others  for  reasons  of  expediency.  All  were 
influenced  by  hopes  of  advancing  their  cause.  For 
a  time  the  appreciation  in  England  —  in  and  out  of 
Parliament  —  amply  justified  their  expectations. 
The  first  shock  came  when  the  British  War  Office 
refused  to  accept  the  offers  of  the  Indian  students 
in  British  universities  to  enlist  in  the  army  or  as 
volunteers.  The  same  fate  met  the  offers  of  edu- 
cated Indians  in  India.  The  offers  made  by  some 
native  princes  and  in  a  few  cases  by  other  members 
of  the  aristocracy  for  personal  service  were  ac- 
cepted, otherwise  no  relaxation  in  favour  of  any 
Indian  was  made  in  the  rules  for  enlistment  in  the 


24  INTRODUCTION 

regular  army  or  in  the  volunteers.  The  following 
extracts  from  the  two  leading  Indian  dailies  of  Cal- 
cutta and  Allahabad  will  explain  what  I  mean.  The 
Bengalee  of  Calcutta  said : 

"  When  the  war  suddenly  broke  out  in  Europe 
there  was  a  great  outburst  of  feeling  in  India  to 
serve  the  Empire  in  any  capacity.  There  was  a 
widespread  desire  among  the  more  ardent  spirits  in 
this  country  to  fight  in  defence  of  the  Empire,  and 
in  Bengal,  at  any  rate,  there  was  an  eager  rush  to 
enlist  as  volunteers.  These  young  men  were  will- 
ing to  cast  aside  their  attitude  of  aloofness  from 
what  was  primarily  England's  concern.  They  set 
before  themselves  a  new  ideal,  the  ideal  of  national 
self-realisation.  By  their  participation  in  this 
struggle  they  felt  they  would  be  fighting  the  battles 
of  their  own  freedom.  It  was  the  highest  tribute 
the  Government  could  expect  from  the  people  of 
this  country  of  their  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the 
throne.  But  the  chill  air  of  official  scepticism 
nipped  the  scheme  in  the  bud.  We  were  told  at  the 
time  not  to  embarrass  the  Government  in  any  way; 
but  we  still  lived  in  hopes  that  some  means  might 
be  devised  which  would  enable  our  young  men  to 
participate  in  this  struggle  so  that  from  comrade- 
ship in  arms  there  might  arise  comradeship  in  life 
leading  to  the  necessary  elevation  of  our  status  in 
the  Empire.  But  a  bureaucracy,  with  its  instinctive 
disregard  of  others'  feelings  and  interests,  not  only 
threw  cold  water  on  this  salutary  scheme  but  ap- 
plied its  mind  to  forging  new  fetters  of  repression. 
Thus  the  Defense  of  the  Realm  Act  came  to  be 


INTRODUCTION  25 

passed,  which  is  far  more'  drastic  and  stringent  than 
the  similar  statute  in  England.  Internments  have 
since  become  the  order  of  the  day.  The  whole 
thing  offers  a  painful  illustration  of  the  psychology 
of  the  bureaucratic  mind  in  its  endeavour  to  breed 
loyalty  and  prevent  disaffection.  For  while  the 
spontaneous  offer  of  our  people,  which  was  the  out- 
come of  a  generous  impulse  and  of  genuine  senti- 
ments of  loyalty  and  devotion,  has  been  refused, 
fresh  doses  of  repression  are  being  applied  to  the 
wound  thus  inflicted  on  the  minds  of  the  people. 
But  the  crisis  is  not  yet  over,  nor  has  the  rising  tide 
of  feeling  in  this  country  completely  subsided. 
There  is  a  demand  for  men,  always  for  more  men, 
at  the  front.  It  seems  we  can  not  have  too  many 
men  or  too  much  of  munitions  if  we  desire  a  crush- 
ing victory.  All  the  factories  of  England  —  and 
every  available  factory  has  been  utilised  for  the 
manufacture  of  munitions  of  war  —  are  working 
at  top  speed  for  the  production  of  powder  and 
shells  for  cannon.  As  regards  men,  volunteers  are 
pouring  forth  from  Canada,  Australia,  New  Zea- 
land and  the  mother  country  itself,  in  fact  from  all 
parts  of  the  British  Empire,  except  India.  Can  any 
one  say  why  this  invidious  distinction  is  yet  main- 
tained? Why,  while  gifts  of  every  sort  from  us 
are  gladly  accepted,  the  most  precious  gift  of  all, 
that  of  personal  service  with  all  the  attendant  risk 
that  it  implies,  continues  to  be  so  unwelcome? 
Lord  Kitchener  is  still  calling  for  men.  Mr.  Bonar 
Law's  recent  speech  at  Shrewsbury  indicates  that 
even  conscription  may  have  to  be  resorted  to.     Why 


26  INTRODUCTION 

not  then  accept  the  offers  of  our  men?  The  regu- 
lar troops  in  the  fighting  line  have  earned  no  end  of 
praise  from  the  highest  authorities  for  the  display 
of  their  martial  qualities.  The  Ambulance  Corps 
shows  the  latest  potentialities  in  our  young  men  that 
are  capable  of  development  under  proper  guidance 
and  training.  We  have  not  the  slightest  doubt  that 
our  volunteers  would  prove  themselves  equally  fit 
and  capable,  no  matter  what  the  duties  they  are 
called  upon  to  discharge.  This  war  is  said  to  be  a 
war  of  democracy  against  militarism  and  autocracy, 
a  holy  war  of  justice  and  righteousness  against  the 
violation  of  international  morality  and  the  inde- 
pendence of  small  nations.  Are  these  assertions 
strictly  consistent  with  the  refusal  of  our  loyal  offer, 
which  also  amounts  to  a  denial  of  our  equality  of 
status  with  the  rest  of  the  Empire?  If,  during  the 
heat  of  the  war  and  in  the  midst  of  the  crisis,  there 
be  yet  observed  and  maintained  this  patent  inequal- 
ity of  treatment  and  this  assertion  of  racial  su- 
periority, how  can  we  expect  that  they  will  be  alto- 
gether forgotten  or  cast  aside  after  the  war  when 
the  readjustment  comes  to  be  made?  Repression, 
we  repeat  for  the  hundredth  time,  is  a  disintegrat- 
ing force.  It  alienates  sympathies,  destroys  union 
and  throws  people  into  camps.  Co-operation  on 
the  other  hand  is  a  healing  and  a  cementing  prin- 
ciple. But  without  equality  of  treatment  there  can 
not  be  any  co-operation,  and  without  co-operation 
there  can  not  be  any  prospect  of  permanent  peace. 
By  accepting  our  offer  the  Government  may  give  an 
earnest  of  future  reforms  and  concessions.     It  will 


INTRODUCTION  27 

sensibly  ease  and  improve  the  situation  both  here 
and  at  the  front.  But  bureaucracy  has  so  far  failed 
to  realise  the  situation  and  avail  itself  of  the  op- 
portunity. Let  not  the  words  '  too  late  '  be  written 
by  the  future  historian,  regarding  the  action  of  the 
bureaucracy  in  this  chapter  of  the  history  of  India. 
.  .  .  India  wants  equality  of  status  with  the  rest  of 
the  Empire,  and  as  a  means  to  this  end  her  sons 
want  to  fight  as  volunteers  in  this  war;  and  if  what 
Burke  has  said  be  true  of  Englishmen,  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other  of  India's  claims  can  be  justly  de- 
nied to  her." 

In  its  issue  of  September  8,  191 5,  the  Leader,  of 
Allahabad,  said : 

"  The  not  unkindly  critics  of  John  Bull  have 
often  remarked  that  he  has  got  a  stolid  tempera- 
ment and  an  unemotional  nature.  The  occasions 
are  few  and  far  between  when  he  allows  himself  to 
be  swayed  by  any  strong  outburst  of  passion.  One 
such  exception  to  this  general  course  of  conduct  was 
furnished  last  year  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  .  .  . 
When  Lord  Hardinge  wired  to  England  the  mes- 
sage of  India,  her  ungrudging  and  whole-hearted 
response  to  the  call  of  the  hour,  its  announcement 
in  the  House  of  Commons  touched  the  deepest 
chords  in  the  hearts  of  Englishmen.  Then,  for 
once,  they  let  themselves  go.  There  was  almost  a 
storm  of  English  emotion.  Even  the  Times 
thought  that  it  foreshadowed  a  great  change  in  the 
relations  of  India  and  England.  '  Asiaticus  '  joined 
the  chorus  and  swelled  the  paean  of  the  praise  of 
Indian  loyalty.     He  recanted  his  words  of  former 


28  INTRODUCTION 

days.  He  even  praised  Mr.  Tilak.  Mr.  Roberts 
spoke  of  a  change  in  the  angle  of  vision.  Other 
statesmen  and  other  papers  uttered  the  same  lan- 
guage of  joy  and  hope.  All  this  naturally  raised 
the  hopes  of  India.  Some,  more  imaginative  than 
others,  conjured  up  visions  of  glory.  They  imag- 
ined they  could  see  the  distant  gleam  of  self-gov- 
ernment. Others  again,  with  a  less  imaginative 
nature,  thought  that  even  if  self-government  was 
still  a  far-off  dream,  they  might  yet  see  better  days. 
The  landing  of  Indian  troops  on  the  European  soil 
was  the  signal  for  the  outburst  of  another  demon- 
stration of  feeling.  Their  heroic  deeds,  their  un- 
questioning devotion  to  duty,  formed  the  theme  of 
sketch  writers  and  leader  writers  in  the  English 
press.  And  yet  to  any  one  who  has  closely  fol- 
lowed the  course  of  events  during  the  last  six  or 
seven  months  and  studied  the  writings  of  the  Eng- 
lish press  and  the  utterances  of  notable  Englishmen 
in  England  and  India,  nothing  is  more  clear  than 
that  an  ominous  reserve  has  again  overtaken  the 
English  mind.  Mr.  Bonar  Law  talks  of  a  consulta- 
tion with  the  colonies,  and  forgets  the  very  exist- 
ence of  India.  Mr.  Austen  Chamberlain,  since  the 
day  he  assumed  his  office,  has  put  a  seal  on  his  lips, 
and,  whatever  may  flow  beneath  the  surface  from 
Downing  Street  to  Delhi  or  Simla,  nothing  has 
fallen  from  his  lips  that  can  inspire  confidence  or 
kindle  hope.  The  House  of  Lords  have  already 
given  their  reply  to  a  sympathetic  Viceroy,  when, 
in  the  name  of  avoiding  controversial  issues,  they 


INTRODUCTION  29 

shelved  the  question  of  an  Executive  Council  for 
these  provinces,  which  is  another  way  of  saying  that 
they  strangled  it.  Lord  Curzon,  Lord  MacDonnel 
and  Lord  Sydenham  are  not  likely  to  learn  the  wis- 
dom which  the  force  of  events  would  teach  to  more 
plastic  minds.  If  Indian  students  in  England  ap- 
proach the  higher  authorities  with  a  prayer  that  they 
may  be  admitted  to  the  Officer's  Training  Corps, 
they  are  told  to  wait  —  indefinitely.  If  Sir  George 
Scott  Robertson,  with  imprudent  enthusiasm,  sug- 
gests the  creation  of  an  Indian  guard,  he  is  roundly 
told  that  he  is  impatient.  '  Asiaticus '  has  again 
frankly  gone  back  upon  his  short-lived  liberalism, 
and  Sir  Valentine  Chirol  is  no  better.  Conven- 
ience suggests  the  postponement  of  discussion  of  the 
Indian  Budget,  and  the  statute  allows  it.  Out  here 
in  India  the  doctrine  of  unconditional  loyalty  is 
held  up  to  us.  We  are  told  that  it  is  a  folly,  if  not 
a  crime,  to  talk  of  what  may  come  to  India  when 
the  time  for  readjustment  comes.  Meanwhile  In- 
dian speculation,  so  natural  to  a  nation  of  specula- 
tors, is  roaming  free.  Hopes  spring  up  only  to  give 
place  to  fears.  .  .  . 

"  There  are  not  wanting  men  among  us  also  who 
have  only  one  counsel  to  give,  and  that  is,  wait  and 
see.  No  doubt  the  virtues  of  patience  are  great, 
but  we  think  that  so  far  as  patience  alone  is  con- 
cerned India  may  easily  throw  out  a  challenge  to 
any  nation  in  the  world.  If  India  will  not  help 
herself  she  will  have  little  reason  to  grumble  if 
others  will  not  help  her,     Let  us  distinctly  tell  Eng- 


30  INTRODUCTION 

land  that  the  time  for  half  measures  and  gingerly 
reform  has  gone  and  that  for  bold  and  courageous 
steps  has  come." 


The  Indian  National  Congress,  the  official  or- 
ganisation of  the  constitutional  party,  held  its  an- 
nual session  at  Madras  in  December,  1914.  In  the 
course  of  his  speech,  the  President  remarked : 

"  If  English  rule  in  India  meant  the  canonisation 
of  a  bureaucracy,  if  it  meant  perpetual  domination 
and  perpetual  tutelage,  and  increasing  dead-weight 
on  the  soul  of  India,  it  would  be  a  curse  to  civilisa- 
tion and  a  blot  on  humanity." 

Again  he  asks  complainingly : 

"  The  right  to  carry  arms,  the  right  to  bear  com- 
missions in  the  Army  and  lead  our  men  in  the  cause 
of  the  Empire,  the  right  to  form  volunteer  corps  in 
the  defence  of  hearth  and  home,  how  long  will  these 
be  denied  to  the  Indian  people?  How  long  will 
India  toddle  on  her  feet,  tied  to  the  apron-strings 
of  England?  It  is  time  she  stood  on  her  own  legs. 
If  England  were  obliged,  as  was  Imperial  Rome  in 
her  day,  to  abandon  India  in  the  hour  of  some  great 
danger,  what  could  be  more  humiliating  to  England 
and  to  India  alike,  than  for  India  to  be  left  unarmed 
and  untrained  in  the  use  of  arms,  as  her  civil  popu- 
lation now  is,  a  prey  to  internal  anarchy  and  ex- 
ternal aggression?  What  a  commentary  would  it 
be,  on  150  years  of  British  rule  in  India,  that  Eng- 
land found  the  people  strong  though  disunited  and 
left  them  helpless  and  emasculated?  " 


INTRODUCTION  31 

At  Christmas,  19 15,  the  Congress  again  met 
under  the  presidency  of  Sir  S.  P.  Sinha,  who  was 
in  1908  the  first  Indian  appointed  to  be  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Governor  General's  Executive  Council, 
the  British  Cabinet  in  India.  In  the  words  of  an 
Indian  magazine,  the  speech  delivered  by  him  as 
coming  from  a  man  who  has  obtained  "  wealth,  high 
position  and  honour  "  from  the  British  connection 
and  who  has  been  "  in  the  inner  Councils  of  the 
Government,"  is  most  significant  in  its  ideals  as 
well  as  demands.  His  ideal  of  a  government 
for  India  has  been  borrowed  from  Abraham  Lin- 
coln of  the  United  States,  viz.,  "  Government  of 
the  people,  by  the  people,  for  the  people."  He 
says: 

"  What  I  do  say  is  that  there  should  be  a  frank 
and  full  statement  of  the  policy  of  Government  as 
regards  the  future  of  India,  so  that  hope  may  come 
where  despair  holds  sway  and  faith  where  doubt 
spreads  its  darkening  shadow,  and  that  steps  should 
be  taken  towards  self-government  by  the  gradual 
development  of  popular  control  over  all  depart- 
ments of  Government  and  by  removal  of  disabilities 
and  restrictions  under  which  we  labour  both  in  our 
own  country  and  in  other  parts  of  the  British  Em- 
pire." 

Among  the  definite  reforms  and  remedial  and 
progressive  measures  which  he  demands  are : 

"  Firstly  —  The  grant  of  commissions  in  the  army 
and  military  training  for  the  people. 

"  Secondly  —  The  extension  of  local  self-govern- 
ment. 


32  INTRODUCTION 

"  Thirdly  —  The  development  of  our  commerce, 
industries  and  agriculture." 

Regarding  the  first  he  goes  into  details  as  fol- 
lows: 

"  i  st.  We  ask  for  the  right  to  enlist  in  the 
regular  army,  irrespective  of  race  or  province  or 
origin,  but  subject  only  to  prescribed  tests  of  physi- 
cal fitness. 

"  2nd.  We  ask  that  the  commissioned  ranks  of 
the  Indian  army  should  be  thrown  open  to  all  classes 
of  His  Majesty's  subjects,  subject  to  fair,  reason- 
able and  adequate  physical  and  educational  tests, 
and  that  a  military  college  or  colleges  should  be 
established  in  India  where  proper  military  training 
can  be  received  by  those  of  our  countrymen  who 
may  have  the  good  fortune  to  receive  His  Majesty's 
commission. 

"  3rd.  We  ask  that  all  classes  of  His  Majesty's 
subjects  should  be  allowed  to  join  as  volunteers, 
subject  of  course  to  such  rules  and  regulations  as 
will  ensure  proper  control  and  discipline,  and 

"4th.  That  the  invidious  distinctions  under  the 
Arms  Act  should  be  removed.  This  has  no  real 
connection  with  the  three  claims,  but  I  deal  with  it 
together  with  the  others  as  all  these  disabilities  are 
justified  on  the  same  ground  of  political  expedi- 
ency." 

As  to  the  reasons  why  we  should  have  self-gov- 
ernment, he  said : 

"  A  British  Premier  early  in  this  century  very 
truly  observed,  '  Good  government  can  not  be  a 
substitute    for    self-government.'     Says    a    recent 


INTRODUCTION  33 

writer  in  a  well-known  British  periodical,  *  Every 
Englishman  is  aware  that  on  no  account,  not  if  he 
were  to  be  governed  by  an  angel  from  heaven, 
would  he  surrender  that  most  sacred  of  all  his 
rights,  the  right  of  making  his  own  laws.  .  .  .  He 
would  not  be  an  Englishman,  he  would  not  be  able 
to  look  English  fields  and  trees  in  the  face,  if  he  had 
parted  with  that  right.  Laws  in  themselves,  have 
never  counted  for  much.  There  have  been  benefi- 
cent despots  and  wise  law-givers  in  all  ages  who 
have  increased  the  prosperity  and  probably  the  con- 
tentment and  happiness  of  their  subjects  but  yet 
their  government  has  not  stimulated  the  moral  and 
intellectual  capacity  latent  in  citizenship  or  fortified 
its  character  or  enlarged  its  understanding.  There 
is  more  hope  for  the  future  of  mankind  in  the  least 
and  faintest  impulse  towards  self-help,  self-realisa- 
tion, self -redemption,  than  in  any  of  the  lazvs  that 
Aristotle  ever  dreamt  of.12  The  ideal,  therefore, 
of  self-government  is  one  that  is  not  based  merely 
on  emotion  and  sentiment,  but  on  the  lessons  of 
history." 

What  is,  however,  most  significant,  is  his  reply 
to  the  criticism  often  made  by  ignorant  and  preju- 
diced Englishmen  and  others  as  to  what  would  be 
the  fate  of  India  if  England  were  to  withdraw  from 
India  and  as  to  the  Indians'  fitness  to  manage  their 
affairs  or  to  fight  their  battles.     He  observes : 

"  I  take  leave  to  point  out,  therefore,  that  it  is  not 
correct,  at  any  rate  at  the  present  time,  to  assert 
of  any  sections  of  the  Indian  people  that  they  are 
12  The  italics  are  mine. 


34  INTRODUCTION 

wanting  in  such  physical  courage  and  manly  virtues 
as  to  render  them  incapable  of  bearing  arms.  But 
even  if  it  were  so,  is  it  not  the  obvious  duty  of 
England  so  to  train  them  as  to  remove  this  inca- 
pacity, especially  if  it  be  the  case,  as  there  is  some 
reason  to  believe,  that  it  is  English  rule  which  has 
brought  them  to  such  a  pass?  England  has  ruled 
this  country  for  considerably  over  150  years  now, 
and  surely  it  cannot  be  a  matter  of  pride  to  her  at 
the  end  of  this  period  that  the  withdrawal  of  her 
rule  would  mean  chaos  and  anarchy  and  would 
leave  the  country  an  easy  prey  to  any  foreign  ad- 
venturers. There  are  some  of  our  critics  who 
never  fail  to  remind  us  that  if  the  English  were  to 
leave  the  country  to-day,  we  would  have  to  wire 
to  them  to  come  back  before  they  got  to  Aden. 
Some  even  enjoy  the  grim  joke  that  were  the  Eng- 
lish to  withdraw  now,  there  would  be  neither  a 
rupee  nor  a  virgin  left  in  some  parts  of  the  country. 
I  can  conceive  of  no  more  scathing  indictment  of 
the  results  of  British  rule.  A  superman  might 
gloat  over  the  spectacle  of  the  conquest  of  might 
over  justice  and  righteousness,  but  I  am  much  mis- 
taken if  the  British  nation,  fighting  now  as  ever  for 
the  cause  of  justice  and  freedom  and  liberty,  will 
consider  it  as  other  than  discreditable  to  itself  that 
after  nearly  two  centuries  of  British  rule  India  has 
been  brought  to-day  to  the  same  emasculated  con- 
dition as  that  of  the  Britons  in  the  beginning  of  the 
fifth  century  13  when  the  Roman  legions  left  the 
English  shores  in  order  to  defend  their  own  coun- 
13  The  italics  are  mine. 


INTRODUCTION  35 

try  against  the  Huns,  Goths  and  other  barbarian 
hordes." 

The  reader  may  well  compare  this  with  the  fol- 
lowing observation  made  by  the  present  writer  in  a 
pamphlet  14  recently  issued  by  him  on  the  political 
situation  in  India. 

"  The  whole  world  is  free  to  keep  arms  and  use 
arms.  Every  civilised  nation  is  interested  in  giv- 
ing a  military  training  to  her  boys  and  citizens  and 
in  teaching  them  the  use  of  arms  and  other  military 
tactics.  Some  countries  do  this  by  conscription, 
others  do  it  on  a  voluntary  basis.  No  government 
entitled  to  be  called  sane  thinks  of  denying  arms  to 
such  of  its  people  as  want  to  use  them  for  legiti- 
mate purposes.  The  free  possession  of  arms  and 
free  training  in  military  tactics  for  purposes  of  in- 
dividual and  national  defence  is  the  birthright  of 
every  son  of  a  mother.  Even  the  Amir  of  Kabul 
does  not  deny  that  to  his  people.  Nations  are 
vying  with  each  other  in  their  military  preparations 
and  in  giving  military  training  to  their  citizens. 
Even  China  is  thinking  of  introducing  conscription. 
In  Japan  military  training  is  compulsory.  In  some 
places  even  the  girls  learn  the  use  of  arms  and  prac- 
tise fencing.  In  the  United  States  as  well  as  in  the 
other  States  of  America  the  negroes  and  the  Ameri- 
can Indians  can  keep  arms  and  receive  military 
training.  But  the  Indians  of  India  can  not  keep 
arms.  Every  nation  is  interested  in  the  manufac- 
ture  of   arms   and   ammunition   and   in   inventing 

14  Some  Reflections  on  the  Political  Situation  in  India,  by 
La j  pat  Rai,  pp.  24-27. 


36  INTRODUCTION 

effective  methods  of  dealing  with  their  enemies. 
Governments  give  every  encouragement  to  those 
who  invent  new  arms  or  improve  old  ones.  All 
this  is  denied  to  the  Indians.15  Why?  Because 
they  are  a  subject  people.  Their  government  can- 
not trust  them.  The  strength  of  the  native  army 
in  India  cannot  exceed  a  certain  proportion  of  the 
British  army ;  they  cannot  handle  the  artillery ;  and 
numerous  other  restrictions  are  imposed  upon  the 
possession  and  use  of  arms  by  them.  Why?  Are 
they  not  fit  to  handle  arms?  Are  they  not  brave? 
Are  they  intemperate?  None  of  these  things  can 
be  said  of  them.  Yet  no  Indian  can  get  a  commis- 
sioned rank,  however  high  by  birth  or  social  posi- 
tion, however  fit  by  education.  No  Indian  can  be 
admitted  into  a  military  college  in  India  or  in  Great 
Britain.  Why?  Are  they  unfit,  or  intellectually 
and  physically  imbeciles?  The  truth  is  that  the 
Government  of  India,  not  being  their  own  govern- 
ment, they  cannot  be  trusted.  They  can  be  en- 
rolled as  mere  soldiers  and  that  only  in  certain 
numbers.  Beyond  that  they  cannot  get  any  mili- 
tary training  or  military  rank.  Nor  can  the  civil 
population  be  trusted  to  keep  arms,  much  less  to 

15  The  ludicrous  extent  to  which  the  prohibition  to  keep  and 
use  arms  has  been  carried  will  be  better  illustrated  by  the  fol- 
lowing incident  reported  by  the  Bengalee  of  Calcutta. 

"  A  five  year  old  boy  of  Munshi  Ganj  Road,  Kidderpore,  had 
a  toy  pistol  purchased  for  one  anna.  On  the  8th  of  August 
last  the  child  was  playing  with  it  but  could  not  explode  the 
paper  caps.  A  thirteen  year  lad  showed  him  how  to  do  it. 
The  boy  was  at  once  arrested  by  a  beat  constable  and  marched 
off  to  the  Wat  Ganjthana  with  the  fire  arm.  The  boy  was 
eventually  sent  up  for  trial  at  Alipur  and  the  Court  fined  him 
three  rupees." 


INTRODUCTION  37 

manufacture  them.  Much  fuss  has  been  made 
over  the  Indians  having  been  allowed  to  participate 
in  the  European  War.  The  Indians  have  gone  mad 
over  the  incident,  as  if  that  were  the  greatest  boon 
that  could  be  conferred  on  them.  The  truth  is  that 
the  step  was  actuated  by  and  taken  purely  in  British 
interests.  Without  the  Indian  contingent  Great 
Britain  could  not  send  a  decent  expeditionary  force 
to  France.  The  whole  of  the  white  army  could  not 
be  removed  from  India.  In  removing  large  num- 
bers of  them,  it  was  necessary  to  remove  propor- 
tionately large  numbers  of  the  native  army  also. 
The  British  Government  is  always  distrustful  of 
the  native  army.  No  amount  of  false  statements 
and  fallacious  reasoning  can  conceal  the  fact  that 
the  British  in  India  cannot  allow  the  Indians  to 
manufacture  or  carry  arms,  cannot  give  them  a 
military  training,  cannot  even  keep  a  large  native 
army  (more  than  double  the  strength  of  the  perma- 
nent British  garrison)  because,  being  foreigners, 
they  cannot  trust  them.  They  fear  that  some  day 
the  arms  or  military  training  given  them  may  be 
used  against  themselves.  Looking  at  it  from  their 
point  of  view,  perhaps,  it  cannot  be  said  that  they 
may  not  be  right.  But  then,  why  ask  the  Indians 
to  accept  the  pretence  that  the  Government  is  na- 
tional, and  that  they  are  the  equal  subjects  of  the 
crown;  why  hide  the  truth  and  make  false  and 
hypocritical  declarations  to  the  contrary?  The 
British  know  the  weakness  of  their  rule  in  India, 
and  in  the  disarming  of  the  people  they  see  the  best 
guarantee  of  the  continuance  of  their  own  rule  and 


38  INTRODUCTION 

power.  In  the  matter  of  arms,  the  present  situa- 
tion in  India  is  this.  One  may  steal  arms ;  one  may 
smuggle  them ;  one  may  illicitly  purchase  them, 
from  those  who  have  the  freedom  of  possessing,  for 
the  purpose  of  committing  crime,  but  one  cannot 
have  them  for  defending  his  life  and  property,  or 
the  life  and  honour  of  his  family  (wife,  mother, 
sisters,  and  daughters).16 

"  It  is  this  which  gives  awful  power  to  the  law- 
less portions  of  society  and  which  explains  the 
losses  and  hardships  of  those  who  have  suffered 
from  the  depredations  of  the  latter  and  are  suffer- 
ing from  dacoities  and  robberies  and  murders  in 
Bengal  and  Punjab  and  elsewhere.  There  are 
plenty  of  arms  in  the  country  for  the  criminal,  but 
none  for  the  peace-loving  (who  only  want  them  for 
defensive  purposes).  All  this  because  the  Govern- 
ment of  India  is  a  foreign  government  which  cannot 
trust  its  subjects  and  which  does  not  believe  in  their 
loyalty.  In  the  light  of  this  fact,  all  talk  about 
the  extraordinary  outburst  of  loyalty  becomes  stale. 
So  long  as  this  state  of  things  continues,  it  is  use- 
less for  the  Government  to  expect  that  the  people 
can  accept  it  and  treat  it  as  if  it  was  their  own 
national  government.  Never  before,  since  the  in- 
troduction of  British  rule  in  India,  was  the  sense 
of  helplessness,  that  arises  out  of  the  consciousness 

16  Commenting  on  the  annual  report  of  the  issue  of  licenses 
the  Indian  press  have  made  similar  statements.  The  Pun- 
jabee  says  "  while  the  ruffians  bent  on  crime  have  been 
able  to  secure  fire  arms  by  foul  means,  the  law  abiding  section 
of  the  community  have  for  the  most  part  continued  helpless 
owing  to  the  difficulties  of  obtaining  licenses  for  fire  arms." 
See  also  Bengalee  of  the  6th  Oct.  1915. 


INTRODUCTION  39 

of  being  a  disarmed  people,  brought  home  to  the 
people  of  India  so  vividly  and  strongly  as  dur- 
ing the  war.  A  new  fear  has  dawned  on  the  pub- 
lic mind.  Suppose  the  British  lose,  we  are  lost, 
says  the  Indian.  The  Germans  may  come  or  the 
Russians  or  even  the  Amir  of  Kabul,  we  can- 
not even  make  a  show  of  resistance.  A  people  so 
helpless  and  dependent  deserve  to  be  despised  by 
the  world.  The  war  has  made  the  Indian  feel  that, 
as  a  British  subject,  he  is  really  a  despicable  crea- 
ture entitled  to  no  consideration  at  the  hands  of 
the  other  people  of  the  world.  Even  the  negroes 
(whether  in  Africa  or  America)  are  much  better 
placed  than  he  is.  The  prayers  of  Indian  C.  I.  E.'s 
and  Rai  Bahadurs  and  Khan  Bahadurs  notwith- 
standing, the  British  cannot  be  invincible  forever. 
The  time  is  to  come  when  their  prowess  in  arms 
will  decay.  What  will  then  be  the  fate  of  India 
and  Indians?  Will  they  be  transferred  like  sheep? 
If  they  are  not  actually  transferred  by  agreement, 
the  nation  replacing  the  English  as  the  world 
power  will  take  possession  of  India.  The  very  idea 
is  disquieting  and  crushingly  humiliating.  But  this 
is  not  the  only  circumstance  which  constantly  re- 
minds the  Indian  people  that  their  Government  is 
an  alien  Government,  whose  interest  in  them  is  only 
secondary." 

I  will  give  one  more  quotation  on  this  subject, 
and  this  time  from  the  speech  of  a  Parsi  gentleman 
of  extremely  moderate  views.     Says  Mr.  Wacha : 

"  In  connection  with  this  war  there  is  one  seri- 
ous disappointment  to  which  I  cannot  refrain  from 


40  INTRODUCTION 

making  reference  in  this  place.  Many  an  enlight- 
ened and  intelligent  person,  irrespective  of  caste 
and  creed,  in  every  province  of  the  Indian  Empire, 
has  applied,  from  the  very  date  of  the  declaration 
of  war,  to  go  to  the  front  and  fight  side  by  side 
with  the  soldiers  of  the  regular  Indian  army. 
Even  to-day  thousands  on  thousands  are  willing 
and  ready  to  take  up  arms  in  the  great  cause  for 
which  the  Allies  are  fighting.  But  unfortunately, 
the  permanent  bureaucracy  of  the  land  has  sternly, 
if  politely,  refused  those  applications,  the  why  and 
the  wherefore  of  which  has  never  been  made  known. 
It  is  this  attitude  of  the  Government,  in  the  midst 
of  the  great  tragic  crisis,  that  has  caused  the  bit- 
terest disappointment  to  which  many  a  leading 
organ  of  public  opinion  has  given  full  expression. 
Russia,  which  has  millions  of  population  but  less 
numerous  than  that  of  India,  has  already  raised 
and  is  still  raising  a  popular  army  full  of  ardour 
and  patriotism  to  overcome  the  forces  of  the  mod- 
ern Vandals  who  are  such  enemies  of  liberty  and 
freedom.  The  British  Colonies  are  similarly  raising 
corps  after  corps  to  give  succour  to  the  mother 
country,  but  strange  to  say,  that  while  millions  in 
India  are  on  the  qui  vive  to  offer  their  services,  a 
kind  of  proscription  has  gone  forth  from  the 
governing  authorities  that  they  shall  not  be  en- 
rolled. This  is  indeed  an  un-English  attitude 
which  is  unreconcilable  with  the  entire  policy  of 
British  administration  in  every  other  part  of  the 
Empire.  I  am  only  echoing  the  universal  senti- 
ments and  feelings  of  my  countrymen  when  I  ven- 


INTRODUCTION  41 

ture  to  say  in  this  place  that  the  Rulers  of  India 
still  seem  to  mistrust  the  people." 

Comparing  the  policy  of  the  British  with  Im- 
perial Rome,  Mr.  Wacha  concludes: 

"  We  all  devoutly  hope  that  profiting  by  this 
great  achievement,  Great  Britain  will  not  deny  any 
further  to  the  Indian  people  the  exercise  of  arms, 
the  want  of  which  for  so  many  years  has  led  to  their 
emasculation."  17 

This  word  "  emasculation  "  affords  the  key  to  the 
situation  in  India  from  the  purely  Indian  point  of 
view.  Political,  physical  and  economic  "  emascu- 
lation "  is  the  keynote  of  British  rule  there,  and 
however  they  may  cloak  it  with  wrappings  of  pleas- 
ant and  golden  words,  and  however  they  may  con- 
ceal it  in  finely  woven  sentences,  like  the  cloven 
feet  it  emerges  at  almost  every  step.  The  Modem 
Review  puts  it  well  when  it  says: 

"  Under  bureaucratic  rule,  India  is  the  poorest, 
the  most  unhealthy  and  the  most  ignorant  among 
civilised  countries,  and  her  poverty  and  unhealthi- 
ness  are  not  diminishing,  and  education  is  spread- 
ing at  a  slower  pace  than  that  of  the  snail.  The 
remedy  is  Home  Rule." 

There  is  another  brief  quotation  which  I  will 
give,  from  the  speech  of  the  President  of  the  last 
session  of  the  Indian  National  Congress,  viz.,  the 
one  relating  to  the  poverty  of  India.  He  says : 
"  Whatever  differences  of  opinion  may  exist  as  to 
whether  India  is  growing  richer  or  poorer  under 
the  British  rule,  there  is  none  with  regard  to  her 

17  The  italics  are  mine. 


42  INTRODUCTION 

extreme  poverty.  And  there  can  never  be  political 
contentment  without  material  prosperity,  shared  in 
by  all  classes  of  the  people.  What  the  District  Ad- 
ministration Committee  of  Bengal  quotes  with  ap- 
proval as  regards  Bengal,  that  our  industrial  back- 
wardness is  a  great  political  danger,  applies  in 
reality  to  the  whole  of  India. 

"  No  one  will  be  disposed  to  question  the  fact 
of  this  amazing  backwardness.  Rich  in  all  the  re- 
sources of  nature,  India  continues  to  be  the  poorest 
country  in  the  civilised  world."  18 

VI 

I  do  not  propose  to  burden  this  preface  with 
other  complaints  which  the  Indian  politicians  make 
against  the  British  Government,  but  I  can  not  re- 
frain from  giving  one  more  quotation  from  my 
own  pamphlet  on  the  question  of  Education: 

"  Let  us  look  at  education  in  India.  India  has 
been  under  British  rule  now  for  a  century  and  a 
half  in  some  parts,  for  over  a  century  in  others,  and 
for  at  least  65  years  in  the  Punjab.  Yet  the  per- 
centage of  illiteracy  is  well  nigh  95  per  cent.,  tak- 
ing the  whole  of  India.  Greatest  ignorance  pre- 
vails among  the  peasantry  and  the  military  classes, 
the  two  great  bulwarks  of  British  rule  in  India. 
What  has  the  Government  done  to  educate  these 
classes?  Nothing.  Some  maintain  that  they  have 
been  deliberately  kept  out  of  education  because, 
once  educated,  they  may  no  longer  be  such  willing 
tools  as  they  are  now. 

18  The  italics  are  mine. 


INTRODUCTION  43 

"  Agriculture  in  India,  as  elsewhere,  is  the  least 
paying  of  industries,  and  it  is  not  at  all  strange  that 
large  numbers  of  sturdy  Punjabees  prefer  to  labour 
in  other  countries  rather  than  rot  on  their  farms 
in  the  Punjab.  In  the  early  years  of  British  rule 
the  educated  and  the  trading  classes  flourished  and 
became  prosperous,  but  now  they  are  thoroughly 
discontented.  The  native  traders  are  no  longer 
happy  under  British  rule,  ( 1 )  because  the  railways 
and  foreign  import  and  export  offices  dealing  di- 
rectly with  the  producer  and  the  consumer  have 
ruined  their  business,  (2)  because  the  facilities 
available  to  them  in  the  early  days  of  British  rule 
have  disappeared,  (3)  because  the  bureaucracy  is 
always  inciting  the  agricultural  and  military  classes 
against  them  and  heaping  insults  on  their  devoted 
heads  both  by  word  and  deed.  In  almost  every 
province,  special  legislation  has  been  enacted  pro- 
fessedly in  the  interests  of  the  agricultural  classes 
but  really  directed  against  the  Indian  trader  or 
money  lender.  On  the  other  hand,  what  has  the 
Government  done  to  open  non-agricultural  pursuits 
to  them?  Nothing.  In  the  whole  length  and 
breadth  of  the  country  there  is  not  a  single  tech- 
nological institute.  The  private  or  aided  techno- 
logical institutes  are  called  by  that  name  only  by 
courtesy.  In  these  days  of  international  trade 
there  is  no  provision  in  any  of  the  Indian  uni- 
versities for  the  teaching  of  modern  languages. 
While  Germans,  Austrians,  Italians,  Americans  and 
Japanese  can  learn  Hindustanee  and  English  in 
their  own  countries  in  order  to  further  their  trade 


44  INTRODUCTION 

with  India,  the  Government  of  India  has  never 
given  a  thought  to  the  necessity  of  making  a  pro- 
vision for  the  teaching  of  German,  French,  Jap- 
anese, &c,  to  the  Indians  and  of  encouraging  In- 
dians to  learn  these  languages.  The  best  part  of 
a  boy's  student  life  is  compulsorily  spent  in  acquir- 
ing excellence  in  the  use  of  the  English  language. 
Indians  are  not  supposed  to  know  other  languages 
or  to  trade  with  other  countries,  because  the  Eng- 
lish do  it  for  them.  It  is  not  the  concern  of  the 
British  to  encourage  the  native  to  have  direct  com- 
mercial transactions  with  foreign  countries.  There 
is  not  a  single  place  in  India  where  an  Indian  stu- 
dent can  do  research  work  in  chemistry  or  other 
sciences.  While  the  country  is  full  of  mines,  there 
is  no  place  to  learn  mining.  Hundreds  of  steamers 
come  and  go  from  Indian  ports,  but  there  is  no 
place  in  India  where  an  Indian  youth  can  qualify 
himself  even  for  the  merchant  marine,  not  to  speak 
of  the  navy.  In  the  whole  of  India  with  its  splendid 
resources,  there  is  not  a  single  place  where  ships 
can  be  built.  The  Indian  Government  has  never 
given  a  thought  to  these  questions  because  they  do 
not  concern  them,  because  they  are  not  interested 
in  the  development  of  the  indigenous  industries  and 
in  raising  the  status  of  the  people.  They  have  done 
a  lot  to  encourage  the  produce  of  raw  materials 
necessary  for  their  industries  or  for  their  food 
(cotton,  wheat,  oil,  seeds,  etc.),  but  almost  nothing 
to  encourage  manufacturing  industries.  Origi- 
nally they  wanted  to  preserve  the  Indian  markets 
for  themselves  only,  but  their  policy  of  free  trade 


INTRODUCTION  45 

stood  in  the  way,  and  latterly  the  Germans  and  now 
the  Japanese  are  sharing  that  market  with  them. 
But  to  teach  the  Indian  to  manufacture  for  his  own 
consumption  has  never  entered  the  thought  of  those 
responsible  for  the  administration  of  India.  Per- 
haps it  is  not  right  to  say  that  it  never  entered  their 
thought.  They  are  too  intelligent  and  shrewd  not 
to  know  that  they  had  not  done  their  duty  to  India 
in  these  matters,  but  the  interest  of  their  own  peo- 
ple was  paramount  and  that  they  could  not  set 
aside. 

"  The  British  Government  in  India  can  not  go 
in  for  universal  elementary  education,  as  there  is 
danger  of  even  greater  disaffection  resulting  there- 
from ;  they  can  not  give  technical  education  of  a 
high  order,  as  that  might  interfere  with  British  in- 
dustries; they  can  not  protect  Indian  industries  for 
the  same  reason ;  they  can  not  provide  for  real  high 
class  commercial  education  with  a  teaching  of  for- 
eign languages  and  a  knowledge  of  seafaring  and 
navigation,  as  they  do  not  want  the  Indians  to  di- 
rectly engage  in  oversea  trade  and  contract  relations 
with  other  nations.  They  can  not  protect  and  sub- 
sidise Indian  industries,  as  that  is  opposed  to  free 
trade  and  detrimental  to  British  industries.  Yet 
they  want  the  Indians  to  believe  that  the  British 
Government  in  India  is  primarily  conducted  in  the 
interests  of  India. 

"  The  people  of  India  must  remain  ignorant, 
illiterate  and  industrially  and  commercially  depend- 
ent because  that  benefits  England  and  is  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  her  people. 


46  INTRODUCTION 

"  But  that  is  not  all.  The  Government  of  India 
can  not  even  provide  for  high  class  education  in 
sciences,  in  engineering,  and  in  medicine,  for  the 
simple  reason  that  the  higher  positions  in  these 
professions  they  want  to  reserve  for  their  own  peo- 
ple. Of  late  the  number  of  Indians,  educated  and 
trained  in  these  departments  of  knowledge  in  Brit- 
ish and  other  foreign  universities,  has  so  increased 
as  to  become  rather  embarrassing  to  the  Govern- 
ment of  India.  They  can  not  utilise  them  without 
reducing  the  number  of  Britishers  in  these  services. 
This  they  do  not  desire.  The  result  is  that  there 
are  numbers  of  trained  Indians  in  India  with  high 
class  British  and  European  qualifications  who  have 
to  be  contented  with  subordinate  positions  under 
Britishers  of  lesser  qualifications,  and  perhaps,  at 
times,  of  no  qualifications.  The  competitive  ex- 
aminations for  higher  services  are  held  in  England, 
which  in  itself  is  a  great  injustice;  but  this  year  on 
account  of  the  war,  there  being  fewer  qualified  Brit- 
ishers to  compete  for  these  services,  the  Govern- 
ment has  resolved  to  discontinue  18a  some  of  the  ex- 
aminations, for  fear  lest  a  larger  number  of  In- 
dians than  is  desirable  might  get  into  them.  Can 
they  still  say  that  the  Government  of  India  is  as 
good  as  or  perhaps  better  than  a  national  govern- 
ment ?  The  truth  is  that  they  do  not  want  a  larger 
number  of  Indians  in  the  higher  services  because 

isa  t he  examinations  have  not  been  discontinued  but  statu- 
tory provision  has  been  made  for  a  large  proportion  of  the 
appointments  formerly  filled  by  examination  to  be  now  filled 
by  nomination. 


INTRODUCTION  47 

they  can  not  trust  them.  For  the  same  reason  they 
distrust  private  educational  institutions  and  insist 
upon  the  employment  of  Britishers  as  inspectors  of 
schools  and  as  professors  in  the  educational  service. 
They  will  allow  a  certain  number  of  Indians  in  the 
higher  offices  but  that  number  must  not  be  so  large 
as  to  make  it  even  remotely  possible  for  them  to 
create  trouble  for  the  Government.  The  same  fear 
underlies  the  administration  of  local  bodies  and  the 
constitution  and  powers  of  the  Councils.  It  is 
simply  begging  the  question  to  argue  that  Indians 
are  not  yet  ready  or  fit  for  representative  institu- 
tions. The  real  question  is  the  dread  of  power 
passing  from  the  Britishers  into  Indian  hands.19 
It  is  this  dread  that  is  the  dominating  influence  in 
the  policy  of  the  British  Government  in  India. 
India  is  a  possession  and  a  dependency  and  must  be 
administered  in  the  best  interests  of  the  master. 
Many  credulous  Indians  talk  of  the  liberty-loving 
traditions  of  the  British  democracy,  but  they  for- 
get that  the  application  of  these  traditions  to  India 
would  make  such  big  holes  in  their  safes,  purses, 
and  incomes,  that  they  as  men  swayed  by  self-in- 
terest and  love  of  power  and  glory,  can  never  think 
of  enforcing  these  principles  in  India.  The  British 
are  good  people.  In  all  personal  dealings  they  are 
honest,  frank,  and  reliable.  But  when  national  in- 
terests are  at  stake  and  when  the  interests  of  the 

19  Mr.  Lowes  Dickinson,  an  English  Professor  who  has 
largely  travelled  in  India,  has  practically  admitted  the  truth  of 
this  remark.  (P.  23,  An  Essay  on  the  Civilisation  of  India, 
China,  and  Japan.     See  also  pp.  27  and  28.) 


48  INTRODUCTION 

nation  dictate  a  different  line  of  policy,  they  can  not 
help  following  the  latter,  however  much  injustice 
and  hardship  they  may  inflict  upon  others  in  doing 
so.  The  English  political  moralist  and  thinker  be- 
lieves and  preaches  that  the  state  exists  for  the 
people,  that  state  and  people  are  really  interchange- 
able words,  and  that  the  teachings  of  Treitschke, 
that  the  state  is  greater  than  the  people  and  that  the 
latter  exists  for  the  former,  is  immoral  and  vicious. 
In  Great  Britain  and  the  Colonies  the  British  act 
as  they  believe,  but  in  India  they  follow  the  doc- 
trines of  the  German  professor.  The  state  in 
India  is  an  authority  imposed  from  without  and  is 
therefore  distinct  from  and  independent  of  the 
people.20  The  state  in  India  is  the  British  people, 
and  therefore  the  interests  of  the  latter  must  over- 
ride those  of  the  Indian  people.  Everything  in 
India  is  judged  by  that  standard.  The  English 
may  be  good,  benevolent,  just,  kind,  and  fair- 
minded,  but  all  these  virtues  are  dominated  by  the 
supreme  test  mentioned  above.  All  the  real 
troubles  of  India  arise  from  this  circumstance. 
Everything  connected  with  India  is  looked  at  from 
this  angle.  Unless  this  angle  changes  there  is  no 
possibility  of  any  such  changes  taking  place  in  the 
system  and  the  policy  of  the  Government  of  India 
as  are  likely  to  satisfy  the  self-respect  of  the  Indian 
or  to  remove  the  disadvantages  from  which  the 
country  suffers." 

20  The  Pioneer  of  Allahabad,  a  semi-official  organ  of  the 
Anglo-Indians,  has  in  a  recent  issue  said  that  "  The  safety  of 
the  State  is  and  must  be  of  far  greater  importance  than  the 
rights  of  the  individuals." 


INTRODUCTION  49 


VII 

The  most  significant  development  of  National- 
ism, however,  that  has  taken  place  in  the  last  year, 
is  the  unity  between  the  Hindus  and  the  Moham- 
medans on  the  question  of  self-government.  It  is 
remarkable  how  the  war  has  united  the  Hindus  and 
the  Mohammedans,  not  only  in  their  expressions  of 
loyalty  to  the  Government,  but  also  in  their  demand 
for  Home  Rule  and  in  their  dissatisfaction  with 
the  prevailing  political  conditions  in  India.  For 
the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Indian  Nationalism, 
the  Indian  National  Congress  and  the  All-India 
Muslim  League  have  met  in  the  same  city.  This 
was  opposed  with  the  whole  of  their  might  by  the 
Ultra-Loyalists  among  the  Mohammedans  under 
the  inspiration  of  their  Anglo-Indian  masters.  The 
younger  generation  of  the  Mohammedans,  however, 
is  so  thoroughly  filled  with  the  idea  of  National- 
ism that  they  carried  the  day  and  succeeded  in  hold- 
ing a  very  successful  session  of  their  league  at 
Bombay  in  the  same  week  in  which  the  Indian  Na- 
tional Congress  was  holding  its  session  in  that  city. 
The  result  was  that  the  members  of  both  organisa- 
tions met,  compared  notes,  exchanged  civilities,  and 
found  out  that  there  was  practical  unity  among 
them  on  all  the  important  questions  bearing  upon 
their  relations  with  the  Government.  The  Muslim 
League  President  made  pronouncements  demand- 
ing self-government,  free  compulsory  education, 
governmental  help  in  industrial  development,  re- 
moval of  restrictions  against  the  progress  of  In- 


'50  INTRODUCTION 

dian  industries,  in  almost  the  same  terms  and  with 
the  same  emphasis,  if  not  even  greater,  than  the  In- 
dian National  Congress  did.  Both  the  organisa- 
tions appointed  a  joint  committee  to  draw  up  a 
scheme  of  Home  Rule  which  would  meet  the  needs 
and  the  approval  of  both  the  great  religious  com- 
munities inhabiting  that  great  country. 

During  the  last  year  a  scheme  has  been  floated 
by  Mrs.  Annie  Besant,  the  president  of  the  Theo- 
sophical  Society,  a  woman  of  great  ability  and  of 
world-wide  fame,  who  has  adopted  India  as  her 
home,  but  who  at  the  same  time  is  a  patriotic  Eng- 
lishwoman, to  organise  a  Home  Rule  League  for 
India,  separate  from  and  independent  of  both  the 
Indian  National  Congress  and  the  All-India  Mus- 
lim League.  This  proposal  has  met  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  advanced  members  of  both  the  Hindu 
and  Mohammedan  communities.  Some  leaders  of 
the  Indian  National  Congress,  however,  see  a  dan- 
ger to  their  Congress  in  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  the  Home  Rule  League.  But  it  is  won- 
derful how  the  idea  has  caught  hold  of  the  public 
mind.  Practically  the  whole  of  the  Nationalist 
press  and  the  Nationalist  platform,  with  a  few 
minor  exceptions,  have  declared  in  favour  of  the 
proposal.  The  supporters  of  the  Home  Rule 
League  met  at  Bombay  to  formally  decide  the  ques- 
tion of  giving  practical  effect  to  the  idea  which  has 
received  the  joint  support  of  both  the  Hindus  and 
the  Mohammedans.  Mrs.  Besant,  however,  her- 
self, has  shrunk  from  organising  it  just  now,  out 
of  deference  to  the  opinions  of  some  of  the  leaders 


INTRODUCTION  51 

of  the  Indian  National  Congress,  pending  the  re- 
port of  the  joint  committee  formed  to  formulate  a 
scheme  of  Home  Rule  suited  to  India.  Indian  Na- 
tionalism has  thus  advanced  very  much  during  the 
last  year.  We  have  the  two  movements  —  one 
representing  force,  the  other  peaceful  agitation  — 
side  by  side,  as  has  been  the  case  in  the  history  of 
similar  movements  in  other  countries.  One  move- 
ment represents  the  more  virile  section  of  the  popu- 
lation who  believe  in  force,  violence  and  terror- 
ism; the  other,  those  who  depend  upon  appeal  to 
reason,  justice  and  conscience.  The  combined 
force  of  both,  however,  produces  a  momentum 
which  is  sure  to  become  irresistible  in  the  course 
of  time.  What  is  extremely  hopeful  is  the  entirely 
changed  attitude  of  the  Mohammedan  community. 
The  British  wished  for  and  tried  to  create  an  Ulster 
among  the  Mohammedans  of  India.  They  had 
well  nigh  succeeded,  but  the  last  three  or  four  years 
have  brought  about  a  complete  change.  The  Mo- 
hammedan masses  had  really  never  joined  the  edu- 
cated Mohammedan  Separatists,  but  even  the  latter 
have  now  found  out  that  the  policy  of  separation 
from  the  Hindus  which  was  in  their  minds  for  some 
time,  can  not  eventually  bring  any  lasting  good  tc 
their  community.  With  their  Hindu  countrymen 
they  feel  that  India  must  occupy  the  first  place  in 
their  affections  and  thoughts,  and  that  it  was  not 
inconsistent  for  them  to  be  Mohammedans  in  re- 
ligion and  Indians  in  politics.  Similarly,  the 
Hindu  sentiment,  that  was  growing  somewhat  anti- 
Mohammedan  on  account  of  the  Mohammedan  sen- 


52  INTRODUCTION 

timent  of  separation,  has  been  greatly  softened. 
The  Mohammedans  have  begun  to  feel  that  they 
can  share  in  the  ancient  glory  of  India  without  an 
outrage  to  their  Mohammedanism.  The  Hindus 
have  come  to  realise  that  after  all  the  Mohammedan 
rule  in  India  was  not  so  bad  or  tyrannical  and  op- 
pressive as  they  were  told  it  was  by  interested  his- 
torians. The  Mohammedans  feel  that  they  can  be 
as  proud  of  the  Hindu  heroes,  Rama  and  Krishna, 
of  the  Hindu  Epics,  the  Ramayana  and  the  Mahab- 
harta,  of  Hindu  science  and  Hindu  philosophy,  as 
the  Hindus  themselves  are,  without  being  false  to 
their  religion  or  to  their  community.  Similarly  the 
Hindus  feel  that  they  can  be  as  proud  of  a 
Sher  Shah  and  an  Akbar  and  a  Shah  Jahan,  of 
Alberuni,  of  Ibn  Batuta,  of  Abul  Fazal,  Faizi  and 
Galib,  as  the  Mohammedans  can  be.  Nay,  they  can 
go  a  step  further  and  say  that  even  Aurangzeb  was 
not,  after  all,  so  bad  as  they  had  supposed  him  to  be. 
The  Hindus  and  Mohammedans  have  discovered 
that  they  can  take  part  in  their  respective  festivals 
and  take  pride  in  their  respective  past,  without  in 
any  way  being  traitors  to  their  respective  religions 
and  communities. 

VIII 

That  the  above  statements  are  not  mere  creations 
of  my  own  brain,  but  are  based  on  fact,  will  be 
easily  seen  from  the  following  extracts  which  I 
make  from  the  speech  of  the  President  of  the  last 
session  of  the  All-India  Muslim  League  held  at 
Bombay  in  December,  191 5. 


INTRODUCTION  53 

First,  about  the  representative  character  of  the 
assembly,  Mr.  Mazhar-ul-Haq  remarked : 

"  Please  accept  my  sincere  and  heartfelt  thanks 
for  the  great  honour  you  have  done  me  by  electing 
me  the  President  of  the  All-India  Muslim  League 
this  year.  It  is  a  proud  privilege  to  preside  over 
and  guide  the  deliberations  of  this  distinguished 
gathering,  where  representatives  of  seventy  millions 
of  his  Britannic  Majesty's  Indian  Muslim  subjects 
are  assembled  in  conference  for  the  betterment  of 
their  condition,  and  for  counsel  and  consultation 
together  on  the  affairs  of  their  country." 

About  the  difficulties  of  the  times  he  says : 

"  Times  are  most  unpropitious  for  expressing 
views  and  convictions  which,  in  normal  times  of 
peace,  there  would  have  been  no  harm  in  frankly 
and  unreservedly  putting  before  our  community  mid 
our  Government.  The  present  terrible  conflict  of 
nations  enjoins  upon  us  the  paramount  duty  of  say- 
ing or  doing  nothing  which  would  embarrass  or 
weaken  the  hands  of  our  Government  by  producing 
undesirable  excitement  in  the  people,  or  lead  to  any 
impression  upon  foreign  nations  that  we  are  in  any 
way  inimical  or  even  indifferent  to  the  best  interests 
of  the  Empire." 

As  to  how  Islam  established  itself  in  India,  how 
it  spread  and  what  is  the  present  position  of  the 
Mohammedans  of  India,  he  speaks  as  follows: 

"  The  first  advent  of  the  Muslims  in  India  was 
along  these  very  coasts  21  in  the  form  of  a  naval 
expedition  sent  by  the  third  Khali  f  in  the  year 
21  The  Western  Coast. 


54  INTRODUCTION 

636  A.  d.  This  was  more  than  four  hundred  years 
before  William  the  Conqueror  defeated  the  Saxons 
at  the  battle  of  Hastings.  After  many  vicissitudes, 
into  the  details  of  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  go,  the 
Muslim  Empire  was  firmly  established  in  India. 
These  invaders  made  India  their  home  and  did  not 
consider  it  a  land  of  regrets.  They  lived  amongst 
the  people  of  the  country,  mixed  with  them  freely 
and  became  true  citizens  of  India.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  they  had  no  other  home  but  India.  From  time 
to  time  their  number  was  strengthened  by  fresh 
blood  from  Arabia,  Persia  and  other  Muslim  lands, 
but  their  ranks  were  swollen  mainly  by  additions 
from  the  people  of  the  country  themselves.  It  is 
most  interesting  to  know  that  out  of  the  present 
seventy  millions  of  the  Muslim  population,  those 
who  have  claimed  their  descent  from  remote  non- 
Indian  ancestors  amount  only  to  eight  millions. 
Whence  have  the  remaining  millions  come,  if  not 
from  Indian  ranks?  The  Muslims  enriched  the 
hoary  civilisation  of  India  with  their  own  litera- 
ture and  art,  evolved  and  developed  by  their  cre- 
ative and  versatile  genius.  From  the  Himalayas 
to  Cape  Comorin  the  entire  country  is  studded  with 
those  gems  of  art  which  remind  one  of  the  glorious 
period  of  Muslim  rule.  The  result  was  a  new 
civilisation  which  was  the  outcome  of  the  combined 
efforts  of  all  the  peoples  of  India  and  the  product  of 
the  two  great  civilisations  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  During  Muslim  times  all  offices  were 
equally  opened  to  all,  without  any  distinction  of 
class,  creed  or  colour.     The  only  conditions  were 


INTRODUCTION  55 

fitness  and  efficiency.  So  we  have  the  spectacle  of 
a  Hindu  prime  minister,  a  Hindu  commander-in- 
chief,  a  Hindu  finance  minister,  and  a  Hindu  gov- 
ernor of  Kabul.  Ethnology  and  folklore  of  India 
speak  eloquently  of  manners  and  customs  showing 
the  influence  of  one  people  upon  the  other.  The 
only  link  which  the  Muslims  kept  with  the  countries 
outside  India  was  the  spiritual  link  of  their  religion. 
This  was  under  the  circumstances  inevitable.  This 
short  historical  retrospect  may  be  succinctly  ex- 
pressed in  two  words  which  fully  and  clearly  de- 
scribe the  elements  and  conditions  of  our  existence 
in  India.  We  are  Indian  Muslims.  These  words, 
'  Indian  Muslims,'  convey  the  idea  of  our  nation- 
ality and  of  our  religion,  and  as  long  as  we  keep 
our  duties  and  responsibilities  arising  from  these 
factors  before  our  eyes,  we  can  hardly  go  wrong. 

"  Indian  Muslims  are  Indians  first ! 

"  About  what  we  owe  to  our  non-Muslim  fellow 
subjects  I  have  never  concealed  my  opinion,  and  I 
can  only  repeat  here  what  I  have  often  said.  I  am 
one  of  those  who  have  never  taken  a  narrow  and 
sectarian  view  of  Indian  politics.  When  a  ques- 
tion concerning  the  welfare  of  India  and  of  justice 
to  Indians  arises  I  am  not  only  an  Indian  first,  but 
an  Indian  next  and  an  Indian  to  the  last,  an  Indian 
and  an  Indian  alone,  favouring  no  community  and 
no  individual,  but  on  the  side  of  those  who  desire 
the  advancement  of  India  as  a  whole  without  preju- 
dice to  the  rights  and  interests  of  any  individual, 
much  less  of  any  community,  whether  my  own  or 
another. 


$6  INTRODUCTION 

"  Policies  and  principles  of  a  nobler  kind  may  be 
laid  down  by  higher  authorities,  but  their  value  is 
determined  by  those  who  have  to  carry  them  out. 
Thus  it  has  often  been  the  case  in  India  that  noble 
intentions  have  degenerated  into  pious  wishes  and 
even  into  harmful  actions.  If  the  Indian  people 
were  real  partners  in  the  actual  governance  of  the 
country,  the  Indian  point  of  view  would  have  pre- 
vailed, much  that  is  now  admitted  to  have  been  mis- 
taken would  have  been  avoided,  the  country  would 
have  progressed  and  the  ruling  classes  would  have 
been  spared  the  bitter  and  sometimes  undeserved 
criticisms  hurled  against  them.  Unless  and  until 
India  has  got  a  national  government  and  is  gov- 
erned for  the  greatest  good  of  the  Indian  people,  I 
do  not  see  how  she  can  be  contented.  India  does 
not  demand  '  a  place  in  the  sun '  in  any  aggressive 
sense,  but  she  does  require  the  light  of  the  Indian 
sun  for  her  own  children. 

"  Gentlemen,  let  us  descend  a  little  from  the  gen- 
eralities into  details  and  see  how  the  policy  of  the 
past  has  worked  not  only  to  our  detriment,  but  to 
the  positive  weakening  of  the  British  rule  itself. 
Let  us  see  what  small  share  we  have  in  the  larger 
life  of  the  Empire.  I  have  already  said  that  we 
have  no  share  in  laying  down  the  policy  upon  which 
India  is  ruled.  Have  we  any  share  even  in  the  dif- 
ferent Services  of  the  country?  Are  we  allowed  to 
serve  our  own  land  and  the  Empire  to  the  best  of 
our  capacity  and  ability?  In  every  country  the 
three  premier  Services  are  considered  to  be  the 
Military,  the  Naval  and  the  Diplomatic. 


INTRODUCTION  57 

"  Let  us  begin  with  the  Military.  In  spite  of  the 
numerous  martial  races  who  inhabit  India  in  mil- 
lions, no  Indian  can  rise  above  the  non-commis- 
sioned ranks.  We  can  not  hope  to  gain  a  higher 
position  than  that  of  a  Subadar-Major  or  a  Risal- 
dar-Major.  Every  position  that  would  give  us  an 
independent  command  is  closed  to  us.  The  regular 
army  is  limited  in  number,  no  volunteers  are  taken 
from  our  ranks  and  the  general  population  is 
rigorously  disarmed.  The  Arms  Act  perpetuates 
invidious  distinctions  on  grounds  of  colour  and 
creed  —  distinctions  most  humiliating  to  the  people 
of  the  country.  Going  about  their  ordinary  daily 
occupations  our  people  may  be  attacked  by  dacoits 
and  evilly  disposed  persons  or  even  by  wild  beasts, 
but  they  can  not  defend  themselves.  Even  lathis22 
have  been  held  by  some  judicial  authorities  to  be 
dangerous  weapons.  Newspapers  and  official  com- 
muniques tell  us  that  ordinary  Naiks  of  our  Indian 
Army  have  on  the  battlefield  conducted  themselves 
most  bravely  and  have  led  their  companies  with  con- 
spicuous gallantry  and  ability  at  times  when  all  the 
English  officers  were  either  killed  or  disabled.  If 
our  men  are  capable  of  such  initiative  and  valiant 
deeds  on  the  actual  field  of  battle,  why,  Indians 
naturally  ask,  should  they  not  be  trusted  in  the 
piping  times  of  peace?  Had  they  only  been  trained 
and  allowed  to  serve,  millions  and  millions  would 
have  sprung  to  the  side  of  England  at  her  slightest 
call  in  this,  the  hour  of  her  need.  Indeed,  no  other 
nation    of    the    world    has    such   an    inexhaustible 

22  Heavy  wooden  sticks. 


58  INTRODUCTION 

source  of  strength  as  Great  Britain  has  in  the  teem- 
ing masses  of  India,  but  India  has  been  so  maimed 
and  crippled  in  her  manhood  that  she  can  help 
neither  herself  nor  Great  Britain.  The  idea  is 
galling  and  humiliating  that,  if  a  time  came  when 
India  was  in  danger,  her  own  sons  would  not  be 
able  to  save  their  hearths  and  homes,  or  the  honour 
and  lives  of  their  wives  and  children,  but  would 
have  to  look  to  foreign  nations  like  Japan  and 
Russia  for  help  and  succour.  Peace  and  order  are 
the  first  requisites  of  a  settled  government  and 
without  them  there  would  be  mere  chaos;  but  un- 
limited and  long-continued  peace  has  a  tendency  to 
enervate  and  emasculate  people.  To  make  a  living 
nation,  higher  qualities  are  required.  A  spirit 
which  will  not  bow  before  any  adverse  wind,  an 
internal  strength  which  will  bear  all  toils  and  trou- 
bles, a  determination  which  will  flinch  from  no  task, 
however  impossible  it  may  appear,  a  discipline 
which  will  love  and  be  happy  in  the  service  of  the 
country  and  the  Empire,  are  qualities  necessary  for 
the  attainment  of  that  life  which  I  call  a  full  life. 
These  moral  forces  can  only  come  into  play  when 
people  are  free  and  unrestricted  in  the  exercise  of 
all  their  faculties.  The  profession  of  arms  is  per- 
haps one  which  breeds  this  spirit  and  brings  out 
these  potential  forces  more  than  any  other.  To 
close  it  to  any  portion  of  humanity  is  to  turn  them 
into  lifeless  machines. 

"  In  the  Navy,  we  cannot  rise  above  the  rank  of 
a  lascar.  Attempts  are  often  made  to  keep  us  out 
even  of  this  lowly  position.     India  has  a  vast  sea- 


INTRODUCTION  59 

board,  peopled  by  seafaring  nations.  To  refuse 
them  their  birthright  is  to  waste  so  much  good  ma- 
terial which  would  have  gone  to  increase  the 
strength  of  the  Empire.  Why  not  have  a  few  In- 
dian dreadnaughts  and  cruisers  manned  by  Indians 
and  commanded  by  their  own  countrymen?  It  is 
said  that  the  Indians  are  not  fit  for  the  Navy. 
Having  not  trained  and  tried  them,  it  is  not  just 
or  fair  to  say  so.  Try  them  first  and,  if  found 
wanting,  then  you  have  a  right  to  reject  them. 
The  history  of  ancient  India  proves  that  naval  ca- 
pacity is  here;  but  it  lies  dormant  for  want  of  suf- 
ficient opportunity. 

"  Now  I  pass  on  to  the  Diplomatic  Service.  Here 
we  are  conspicuous  by  our  entire  absence  from  it. 
What  prevents  the  Government  from  utilising  the 
intellect,  the  ability  and  the  energy  of  our  people  in 
this  direction,  I  fail  to  understand.  Why  should 
not  some  of  the  numerous  posts  of  Political  Resi- 
dents and  Agents  of  India  be  opened  to  them? 

"  In  India,  the  Civil  Service  is  considered  to  be 
the  premier  public  service  of  the  country.  Here, 
too,  we  are  circumscribed  and  hedged  in  by  rules 
and  regulations  which  make  it  for  our  people,  if  not 
altogether  impossible,  at  least  very  difficult  to  enter. 
The  examination  which  is  the  only  possible  way  of 
entry  for  an  Indian  is  held  in  London,  7,000  miles 
away  from  his  home.  Those  educated  youths  who 
can  not  bear  the  cost  and  expenses  of  such  a  journey, 
are  entirely  debarred  from  it,  however  brilliant  they 
may  be.  The  fortunate  few,  who  can  afford  to 
compete  with  Englishmen,  have  to  do  so  in  a  Ian- 


6o  INTRODUCTION 

guage  absolutely  foreign  to  them.  Why  the  ex- 
aminations should  not  be  held  both  in  England  and 
India  to  give  the  youths  of  both  countries  equal 
chances  is  an  anomaly  which  passes  my  compre- 
hension. For  a  number  of  years  the  country  has 
been  loudly  demanding  this  much  delayed  justice, 
but  instead,  we  get  the  recent  Indian  Civil  Service 
Act  which  has  entirely  abolished  the  competitive 
system.  No  doubt  the  operation  of  the  Act  is 
temporary,  but  a  wrong  precedent  has  been  created, 
and  no  one  knows  to  what  further  developments  it 
will  lead. 

"  In  the  minor  services  of  the  country,  such  as 
Police,  Forest,  Education,  the  higher  places  have 
been  reserved  for  Europeans  and  the  children  of 
the  soil  have  been  told  that  the  doors  have  been 
shut  against  them.  One  would  have  expected  that 
at  least  in  these  minor  places  Indians  would  not 
have  failed,  but  all  our  protests  and  entreaties  have 
been  of  no  avail  so  far. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  pass  on  now  to  the  economical  de- 
velopment of  the  country.  Let  us  see  what  prog- 
ress we  have  made  in  this  direction.  Admittedly 
India  is  an  agricultural  country  and  its  real  life  and 
strength  is  in  the  teeming  millions  of  humanity  who 
live  in  the  villages,  principally  by  agriculture.  Has 
anything  really  been  done  to  raise  them  from  their 
poverty-ridden  and  helpless  condition?  In  spite  of 
the  jugglery  of  figures  in  which  the  hearts  of  statis- 
ticians delight,  what  is  the  state  of  the  country  and 
its  peasantry?  Statistics  are  supposed  to  prove 
every  theory  advanced  by  men  anxious  to  prove 


INTRODUCTION  61 

their  case,  but  our  eyes  are  our  best  witnesses  and 
can  not  deceive  us.  India  is  a  country  rich  in 
natural  resources  —  resources  which  are  not  in- 
ferior to  any  other  country  in  this  wide,  wide  world. 
Her  land  bears  every  variety  of  crops  from  cotton 
and  jute  to  wheat  and  mustard.  Her  mines  pro- 
duce every  kind  of  metal  from  gold  and  iron  ores 
down  to  the  best  coal,  and  not  excluding  numerous 
precious  stones.  She  has  a  climate  ranging  from 
the  bitterest  cold  to  the  intensest  heat.  Her  rivers 
and  forests  are  full  of  life  and  materials  useful  to 
man.  In  short,  India  is  a  self-contained,  miniature 
world.  In  such  a  country  what  is  the  condition  of 
her  inhabitants?  No  toil  or  trouble  is  spared  for 
the  cultivation  of  their  fields  by  the  wretched  and 
over-worked  peasantry.  All  that  manual  labour 
can  do  is  done,  but  because  of  the  want  of  scien- 
tific methods  and  other  causes  beyond  their  control, 
the  profits  which  ought  to  have  been  theirs  are  lost 
to  them.  Side  by  side  with  green,  minutely  and  in- 
dustriously cultivated  fields,  we  find  tiny  and  di- 
lapidated mud  hovels  thatched  with  old  and  rotten 
straw.  In  these  hovels  there  are  neither  windows 
nor  floor-cloths,  and  the  only  furniture  that  they 
boast  of  is  a  few  earthen  vessels  and  perhaps  a 
chatai.23  Human  beings  and  cattle  herd  together 
with  no  arrangements  for  sanitation.  Such  are  the 
conditions  in  which  the  great  majority  of  our  people 
pass  their  miserable  existence. 

"  In  commerce  and  industry  we  are  no  better  off. 
Our  old  indigenous  industries  have  been  killed  by 
23  A  straw  mat. 


62  INTRODUCTION 

foreign  competition  and  new  attempts  are  crippled 
in  the  interests  of  other  peoples  than  those  of  India. 
The  instance  of  the  cotton  excise  duties  is  before 
us  —  duties  which  have  been  imposed  in  the  inter- 
ests of  Manchester  and  Lancashire. 

"  I  now  pass  on  to  two  of  the  recent  repressive 
measures,  the  Press  Act  and  the  Defence  of  India 
Act.  These  acts  have  worked  harshly  and  told 
heavily  upon  the  persons  and  the  properties  of  some 
leaders  of  our  community.  Musalmans  are  in- 
tensely agitated,  and  I  should  be  grossly  negligent 
in  the  discharge  of  my  duties  as  the  spokesman  of 
Muslim  India,  if  I  failed  to  give  voice  to  their  feel- 
ings on  the  subject.  On  principle  and  by  sentiment 
I  object  to  repression  and  coercion,  be  it  from  the 
Government  or  from  any  section  of  a  disaffected 
people. 

"  I  remember  well,  how  and  under  what  condi- 
tions the  Press  Act  was  passed.  The  members  of 
the  Imperial  Council  gave  their  consent  to  the  pass- 
ing of  the  bill  on  the  express  understanding  that  the 
law  was  intended  for  the  anarchists  and  would 
never  be  applied  in  the  case  of  peaceful  citizens 
anxious  to  enlighten  Government  officers  as  to  the 
sentiments  and  feeling  of  the  people.  But  what  is 
the  result?  All  the  independent  Muslim  papers 
have  either  been  wiped  out  or  are  dragging  on  a 
lifeless  and  miserable  existence.24  The  Comrade  is 
gone,  The  Hamdard  has  been  strangled  to  death,  the 
Muslim  Gazette  ceased  to  exist  long  ago,  Al-Hilal 
is  no  more,  the  Zamindar  is  carrying  on  its  colour- 

24  The  italics  are  mine. 


INTRODUCTION  63 

less  existence  with  a  sword  of  Damocles  always 
hanging  over  its  head.  Whoever  thought  that  the 
Press  Act  would  be  applied  in  this  fashion?  Is  it 
possible  for  the  people  not  to  resent  such  treatment 
and  are  their  feelings  to  be  treated  so  lightly?  " 

The  reader  will  notice  that  there  is  nothing  in 
this  book  which  is  in  any  way  stronger  either  in 
language  or  in  sentiments  than  what  the  President 
of  the  All-India  Muslim  League  has  said  in  the  quo- 
tations given  above.  Along  with  these  expressions 
of  discontent  are  also  found  in  his  address  very 
strong  declarations  of  loyalty  to  the  Government 
and  of  appreciation  of  what  they  have  done  for 
India.  The  task  of  appraising  the  exact  value  of 
both  kinds  of  statements  may  better  be  left  to  the 
reader. 

This  is  the  dawn  of  a  new  day  in  India  which  the 
British  will  have  to  reckon  with.  We  know*  that 
they  are  very  skilful  in  divide  et  impera,  but  the  In- 
dian people  are  now  awake  and  that  policy  may  not 
succeed  so  well  in  the  future  as  it  has  in  the  past. 

The  Indians  have  no  desire  to  do  anything  which 
might  in  any  way  injure  or  harm  the  position  of 
Great  Britain  as  a  world  power.  They  would  much 
rather  gain  Home  Rule  in  India  by  peaceful  means 
and  remain  a  part  of  the  British  Empire  than  sub- 
vert British  authority  in  India  by  force  or  seek  the 
assistance  of  any  other  foreign  power  to  gain  their 
end.  But  in  case  the  British  continue  to  trample 
upon  their  rights  and  to  humiliate  them  and  to  ex- 
ploit them  as  they  have  done  in  the  past,  then  there 
is  no  knowing  what  they  might  not  be  tempted  or 


64  INTRODUCTION 

forced  to  do.  What  is  clear  is  this,  that  the  num- 
ber of  such  Indians  is  growing  larger  and  larger 
every  day  who  are  willing  and  ready  to  sacrifice 
their  careers,  their  prospects,  their  happiness  and 
their  life  at  the  altar  of  what  they  consider  to  be 
their  duty  to  their  country. 

There  are  others  who  think  that  their  patience 
has  been  well  nigh  exhausted;  who  can  not  wait 
and  would  strike  for  their  liberty  at  once,  saying 
"  Our  trust  is  in  God." 

IX 

Before  concluding  this  introductory  part  of  my 
study  of  the  Nationalist  Movement  in  India,  I  de- 
sire to  tender  my  heartfelt  thanks  to  Professor  A. 
U.  Pope,  of  the  University  of  California,  for  the 
encouragement  and  advice  he  has  given  me  in  the 
preparation  of  this  book,  and  to  Dr.  J.  T.  Sunder- 
land, of  New  York,  for  having  read  my  manuscript 
and  written  a  Foreword  for  me. 

The  reader  will,  I  hope,  excuse  me  for  certain 
repetitions.  They  are  unavoidable  in  a  book  of 
this  kind,  where  it  is  desirable  to  show  that  the 
different  communities  and  classes  of  the  Indian 
population  think  on  the  same  lines  in  national  af- 
fairs. 

Lastly,  I  have  to  beg  the  pardon  of  the  reader 
for  certain  personal  references  which  may  seem  to 
be  self-laudatory.  I  have  indulged  in  this  weak- 
ness only  when  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  the 
continuance  of  the  thread  of  the  narrative.  In  one 
chapter  I  have  retained  the  third  person  singular  so 


INTRODUCTION  65 

as  to  avoid  being  understood  that  I  was  speaking  of 
myself. 

I  am  also  conscious  of  the  meagreness  of  certain 
chapters.  The  book  is  too  short  to  be  called  a  His- 
tory of  the  National  Movement.  It  is  written 
more  with  the  object  of  drawing  the  attention  of 
the  civilised  world  to  what  is  happening  in  India, 
than  to  prepare  a  complete  record  of  the  movement. 
The  foreign  reader  can  not  be  expected  to  be  inter- 
ested in  details.  Moreover,  he  may  never  read  a 
long  and  expensive  book.  Hence  the  studied  brev- 
ity kept  in  view  all  through.  Nor  do  I  propose  to 
discuss  the  fitness  of  Indians  for  immediate  self- 
government  as  that  would  largely  add  to  the  bulk 
of  the  book,  but  for  a  brief  and  able  discussion  of 
the  matter  I  may  refer  the  reader  to  an  article  by 
the  Editor  in  the  Modern  Review  of  Calcutta  for 
February,  1916. 

Then  again  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  illustra- 
tions are  so  few.  I  would  have  liked  to  add  many 
more.  Many  prominent  Nationalists  find  no  place 
for  the  simple  reason  that  at  the  time  of  sending 
the  book  to  the  press  I  have  not  been  able  to  get 
their  pictures.  Originally  there  was  no  idea  of 
having  any  illustrations.  It  is  too  late  now  to  de- 
lay the  publication  of  the  book  pending  the  receipt 
of  pictures  from  India.  Indeed  the  mail  facilities, 
just  now,  are  so  dubious  that  one  can  not  be  certain 
of  getting  them  at  all  so  long  as  the  war  lasts. 

Lajpat  Rai. 

Berkeley,  California,  U.  S.  A., 
1st  of  March,  19 16. 


YOUNG  INDIA 

AN  INTERPRETATION  AND  A  HISTORY 

OF  THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT 

FROM  WITHIN 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   GENERAL   VIEWPOINT   OF   THE  INDIAN 
NATIONALIST 

Indian  History  rolls  back  to  thousands  of  years 
before  the  Christian  Era.  Much  of  it  is  still  en- 
veloped in  mystery.  What  little  is  known  has  been 
discovered  and  put  in  shape  within  the  last  hundred 
years.  The  materials,  from  which  the  early  His- 
tory of  India  has  been  prepared,  have  long  been  in 
existence,  but  little  of  them  were  known  to  the 
Western  people. 

It  can  not  be  said  that  a  complete  history  of 
Ancient  India  has  been  fully  and  finally  constructed. 
What  is  known  has  been  discovered  bit  by  bit. 
Much  yet  remains  to  be  found  and  put  in  order.  It 
is  quite  unsafe,  therefore,  to  dogmatise  about  the 
deficiencies  of  Ancient  Indian  civilisation.  Yet 
this  much  can  be  said  with  certainty,  that  centuries 
before  the  birth  of  Christ  India  possessed  a  mar- 
vellous civilisation,  a  wonderful  literature,  a  well 

67 


68  YOUNG  INDIA 

organised  social  system,  a  conception  of  govern- 
ment based  on  law  and  on  the  legal  rights  of  sub- 
jects inter  se,  as  well  as  against  the  ruling  monarch.1 

We  have,  besides,  ample  evidences  in  the  ancient 
literature  of  India,  as  translated  and  interpreted  by 
Western  scholars,  to  the  effect  that  democratic  in- 
stitutions were  not  unknown  to  Ancient  India.2 
Nor  can  it  be  said  that  the  idea  of  universal  sov- 
ereignty over  the  whole  of  India  under  one  per- 
manent power  was  unknown  to  the  Hindus.  How 
often  it  was  realised  and  for  how  long,  can  not  be 
said  with  any  certainty.3 

First  Invasion  of  India.  The  first  political  and 
military  invasion  of  India  known  to  history  was 
that  of  Alexander  the  Great  in  326  b.  c.  Alex- 
ander was  no  doubt  victorious  up  to  a  certain  point, 
but  he  never  conquered  India,  nor  did  he  occupy  it. 
He  did  not  reach  even  so  far  into  the  interior  as 
Delhi  on  the  Jumna.  He  is  said  to  have  left  be- 
hind him  some  officers  to  administer  the  affairs  of 
the  conquered  province,  but  it  is  a  well  established 
historical  fact  that  in  the  conflict  between  Chandra 
Gupta,  the  Hindu,  and  Seleucus,  the  Greek,  who 
was  the  chief  ruling  authority  in  Babylon  after  the 
death  of  Alexander,  Seleucus  was  practically 
worsted  and  a  peace  was  concluded  by  which  the 
independence  of  India  was  fully  realised.  Chandra 
Gupta   ruled   over   the   whole   of    India   north   of 

1 "  The  Raja  (*.  e.,  the  king)  was  not  above  the  law."  See 
Wilson's  note  on  p.  203,  vol.  1  of  Mill's  British  India. 

2  See  Rhys  David's  "  Buddhist  India." 

3  See  an  account  of  Yudhishthira's  Rajsuya  yajna  in  the 
Mahabharata. 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     69 

Vindhyachal.  Bengal  as  far  east  as  Assam,  and  the 
Punjab  as  far  west  as  Afghanistan,  were  among  his 
provinces.  Fortunately  for  us,  we  have  enough 
independent  testimony  in  the  writings  of  Megas- 
thenes,  the  Greek  Ambassador  at  the  court  of 
Chandra  Gupta,  and  other  contemporaneous  Greek 
writers,  as  to  the  state  of  India  at  that  time. 

Chandra  Gupta  and  Asoka.  Megasthenes'  ac- 
count of  the  Government  of  Chandra  Gupta  and 
of  the  details  of  the  administration  under  him,  is 
enough  to  fill  every  Indian  with  pride.  Chandra 
Gupta's  organisation4  included  almost  every  form 
of  governmental  activity  known  to  modern  Europe. 
There  was  a  separate  department  of  labour  under 
him,  a  separate  registrar  of  births,  deaths  and  mar- 
riages, a  minister  who  looked  after  public  charities, 
another  in  charge  of  trade  and  commerce,  one  in 
charge  of  agriculture,  and  so  on.  He  had  a  great 
army,  a  currency  and  a  navy.  Even  then  the  sys- 
tem of  commercial  papers  was  well  known  to  In- 
dians, who  had  a  great  name  for  honesty  and 
truthfulness.  Their  word  was  better  than  a  bond. 
Chandra  Gupta  was  followed  by  Asoka,  perhaps  the 
greatest  and  noblest  Emperor  India  has  had  during 
the  historical  period.  Under  him  the  whole  coun- 
try was  consolidated  under  one  imperial  sway.  He 
ruled  not  by  force,  but  by  love.  His  love  extended 
even  to  animals.  He  is  known  to  have  organised 
hospitals  for  the  treatment  of  animals.  All  this 
happened  before   Christ   was  born.     Between   326 

4  For  an  account  of  Chandra  Gupta's  Government  see  Early 
History  of  India  by  Mr.  Vincent  Smith. 


70  YOUNG  INDIA 

b.  c.  and  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  a.  d., 
India  knew  no  foreign  masters,  in  the  sense  that  it 
was  never  ruled  for  any  length  of  time  from  with- 
out. A  few  of  the  nomadic  tribes  of  Central  Asia 
did  penetrate  into  India,  only  to  be  absorbed  and 
assimilated  by  the  mass  of  the  Aryans  already  set- 
tled and  in  power  there. 

The  next  foreign  invasion  of  India,  which  was  to 
leave  a  permanent  mark  on  the  history  and  institu- 
tions of  India  and  with  which  starts  an  altogether 
separate  epoch  in  Indian  history,  was  by  Abul 
Qasim  in  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century.  For 
full  400  years  the  Mohammedans  knocked  at  the 
door  of  India  before  they  could  establish  a  kingdom 
there.  The  first  Mohammedan  King  of  Delhi  was 
Kutb-ud-din  Aibak,  who  established  a  dynasty  in 
1206  a.  d.  The  Mohammedans  were  in  possession 
of  some  parts  of  Sindh  and  the  Punjab  between  the 
eighth  and  the  twelfth  centuries,  but  India  was  not 
conquered  nor  the  Hindus  beaten  until  Prithvi  Raj, 
the  last  Rajput  King  of  Delhi,  was  defeated  by  the 
treachery  of  a  brother  Rajput  chief  in  the  year 
1 193  A.  D. 

India  Practically  Independent  up  to  the  Twelfth 
Century.  It  will  be  thus  seen  that  India  was  prac- 
tically independent  up  to  the  beginning  of  the  thir- 
teenth century  a.  d.  By  independent,  I  mean  that 
no  foreign  rule  had  been  imposed  upon  it  from 
without.  Some  parts  of  the  northwestern  prov- 
inces of  the  Punjab  and  Sindh  had  been  for  some 
time  under  Muslim  domination,  but  the  main  terri- 
tory was  under  native  rulers  and  native  laws.     As 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     71 

said  before,  the  tribes  that  overran  the  northwest- 
ern parts  of  India  between  the  invasion  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great  and  that  of  Abul  Qasim,  came  to 
settle.  Once  settled  there,  they  adopted  the  re- 
ligion and  the  social  life  of  the  country  and  were 
merged  with  the  natives.  Thenceforth  there  was 
no  distinction  between  them  and  the  other  Indian 
people. 

Muslim  Rule.  The  Mohammedan  rule  over 
India  lasted  for  six  centuries  with  varying  vicissi- 
tudes of  fortune.  For  three  centuries,  from  the 
thirteenth  to  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
their  rule  was  practically  confined  to  Northern 
India.  Deccan,  Rajputana  and  Central  India  were 
always  more  or  less  independent  until  Akbar 
consolidated  the  whole  country  under  his  flag; 
though  even  he  failed  to  vanquish  Partap,  the  in- 
vincible Rana  of  Udeypore  (Rajputana).5  Partap 
was  defeated,  was  driven  out  of  his  capital,  was 
pursued  and  harassed,  but  he  did  not  make  his 
submission  to  the  Mogul.  Akbar  won  over  to  his 
side  almost  all  the  other  Rajput  chiefs,  some  by  his 
prowess,  others  by  friendship,  but  the  Sessodia 8 
chief  would  not  bend  his  knee.  His  countrymen 
simply  worshipped  him.  So  strong  was  the  feel- 
ing of  patriotism  and  the  love  of  independence 
among  the  Hindus,  even  then,  that  when  A-kbar  one 
day  announced  in  the  Durbar  that  he  had  received 

5  It  is  true  that  parts  of  Deccan  had  been  from  time  to  time 
overrun  by  the  Mohammedans  and  at  least  one  Muslim  king- 
dom had  been  founded  there  even  before  Akbar's  time,  but 
still  the  general  statement  in  the  text  stands  good. 

6  The  tribal  name  of  the  House  to  which  Partap  belonged. 


J2  YOUNG  INDIA 

a  petition  of  submission  from  Partap,  the  Rajputs 
present  in  the  Durbar  refused  to  believe  him.  It  is 
well  known  how  one  of  them,  Prithvi  Raj,  a  poet, 
wrote  to  Partap  of  the  indescribable  grief  the  re- 
port had  caused  them,  and  telling  him  that  the 
Hindu  sun  would  set  forever  if  Partap  would 
yield;  and  how  he  received  an  answer  that  the  re- 
port was  wrong  and  that  Partap  would  never  yield 
and  would  keep  the  flag  flying.  That  shows  how 
a  Hindu  servant  of  Akbar,  who  had  made  his  sub- 
mission and  accepted  the  service  of  the  Mogul,  felt 
in  the  matter.  Although  beaten  himself,  he  would 
not  acknowledge  that  the  Hindus  had  been  finally 
beaten  so  long  as  Partap  was  resisting  the  Mogul 
arms.  It  speaks  very  highly  of  the  broad-minded- 
ness of  Akbar  that,  so  far  back  as  the  sixteenth 
century,  he  allowed  one  of  his  Hindu  captives  and 
servants  to  speak  out  so  boldly  and  plainly  of  his 
love  of  Hindu  independence.  Akbar,  we  must  re- 
member, had  succeeded  in  making  alliances  with 
almost  all  the  other  important  Rajput  houses.  The 
proud  Rahtores  7  had  given  him  a  daughter  for  a 
bride,  and  the  Kutchwahas7  Bikanir  7  and  Boondi 7 
had  also  submitted.  So  Partap  had  to  fight  the 
combined  forces  of  Akbar  and  his  own  brother-Raj- 
put chiefs,  some  of  whom  were  related  to  him  by 
the  dearest  ties  of  blood  and  marriage.  Yet  single- 
handed,  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  did  he  with- 
stand the  efforts  of  the  mighty  empire  over  which 
Akbar  ruled  to  force  his  submission.  In  the  words 
7  Names  of  Rajput  ruling  families  in  Akbar's  time. 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     73 

of  Colonel  Tod,  it  is  worthy  "  the  attention  of  those 
who  influence  the  destinies  of  states  in  more  fa- 
voured climes  to  estimate  the  intensity  of  feeling 
which  could  arm  Partap  to  oppose  the  resources 
of  a  small  principality  against  the  then  most  power- 
ful empire  in  the  world,  whose  armies  were  more 
numerous  and  far  more  efficient  than  any  ever  led 
by  the  Persians  against  the  liberties  of  Greece." 

On  his  deathbed  Partap  made  his  successor  swear 
to  eternal  conflict  against  "  the  foes  of  his  coun- 
try's independence."  This  was  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  four  hundred  years  after  the  first  Muslim 
king  had  ascended  the  throne  of  Delhi.  But  a 
hundred  years  had  hardly  gone  by  after  the  event 
when  the  Hindus  again  questioned  Muslim  suprem- 
acy. The  Sikhs  in  the  Punjab,  the  Rajputs  in  Cen- 
tral India,  and  the  Mahrattas  in  the  Deccan,  had 
started  their  campaigns  before  Aurangzeb  died  in 
1707  a.  d.  The  Muslim  supremacy  was  destroyed 
by  the  Hindus  and  not  by  the  British. 

Muslim  Rule  in  India  not  Foreign.  Yet  it  is 
not  right  to  say  that  the  Muslim  rule  in  India  was 
a  "  foreign  rule."  The  Muslim  invaders  were  no 
doubt  foreign  in  their  origin,  just  as  the  Normans 
and  Danes  were  when  they  came  to  England,  but  as 
soon  as  they  settled  in  India,  adopted  the  country, 
made  it  their  home,  married  and  raised  children 
there,  they  became  the  sons  of  the  soil.  Akbar  and 
Aurangzeb  were  as  much  Indians  as  are  to-day  the 
Moguls  and  Pathans  in  Delhi  or  elsewhere.  Sher 
Shah  and  Ibrahim  Lodi  were  no  more  foreigners  in 


74  YOUNG  INDIA 

India  than  were  the  descendants  of  William  the 
Conqueror  or  the  successors  of  William  of  Orange 
in  Great  Britain.  When  Timur  and  Nadir  Shah 
and  Ahmad  Shah  Abdali  attacked  India,  they  at- 
tacked a  kingdom  which  was  ruled  by  Indian 
Muslims.  They  were  as  much  the  enemies  of 
the  Mohammedan  rulers  of  India  as  of  the  Hin- 
dus. 

The  Muslims,  who  exercised  political  sovereignty 
in  India  from  the  thirteenth  up  to  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century  a.  d.,  were  Indians  by  birth,  In- 
dians by  marriage,  and  Indians  by  death.  They 
were  born  in  India,  they  married  there,  there  they 
died,  and  there  they  were  buried.  Every  penny  of 
the  revenues  they  raised  in  India  was  spent  in  India. 
Their  army  was  wholly  Indian.  They  allowed  new 
families  from  beyond  the  borders  of  Hindustan  to 
come  and  settle  in  India,  but  they  very  rarely,  if  at 
all,  employed  people  who  were  not  willing  to  stay 
in  India  for  good  and  to  make  it  their  home.  Their 
bias,  if  any,  against  the  Hindus  was  religious,  not 
political.  The  converts  to  Islam  were  sometimes 
treated  even  with  greater  consideration  than  the 
original  Muslims.  Akbar,  of  course,  did  away 
with  that  distinction,  but  even  the  most  bigoted  and 
the  most  orthodox  Mohammedan  ruler  of  India 
was  not  possessed  of  that  kind  of  social  pride  and 
social  exclusiveness  which  distinguishes  the  British 
ruler  of  India  to-day.  If  the  racial  question  ever 
came  into  prominence  during  Mohammedan  su- 
premacy in  India,  it  was  not  between  Hindus  and 
Mohammedans,    but    between    Mohammedans    and 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     75 

Mohammedans,   as   for   instance  between   Tuglaks 
and  Pathans,  or  between  Moguls  and  Lodis.8 

In  the  reign  of  rulers  like  Sher  Shah,  Akbar, 
Jehangir,  and  Shah  Jahan,  the  Hindus  were  eligible 
for  the  highest  offices  under  the  crown  next  after 
the  princes  of  royal  blood.  They  were  governors 
of  provinces,  generals  of  armies,  and  rulers  of 
districts  and  divisions.  In  short,  the  distinctions 
between  the  Hindus  and  Muslims  were  neither  po- 
litical nor  social.  Looked  at  from  the  political  and 
the  economic  point  of  view,  the  Government  was 
as  much  indigenous  as  under  Hindu  rule.  The 
Muslims  never  attempted  to  disarm  the  population; 
nor  did  they  prohibit  the  manufacture  or  import 
of  arms.  They  did  not  recruit  their  servants  from 
Arabia,  or  Persia,  or  Afghanistan.  They  had  no 
Lancashire  industries  to  protect,  and  were  under  no 
necessity  of  imposing  excise  duties  on  Indian-made 
goods.  They  brought  their  own  language  and 
literature  with  them.  For  a  time,  perhaps,  they 
transacted  all  government  business  through  that 
language,  but  eventually  they  evolved  a  language 
which  is  as  much  Indian  as  any  other  vernacular 
spoken  in  India  to-day.  The  groundwork  of  this 
language,  which  is  now  called  Urdu  or  Hindustani, 
is  purely  Indian.  The  Muslim  rulers  of  India  had 
no  anxiety  for,  and  were  in  no  way  concerned  with, 
the  prosperity  of  the  labouring  classes  of  Persia  or 
Afghanistan.  If  any  one  sought  their  patronage, 
he  had  to  come  to  and  settle  in  India.     So  their 

8  The  history  of  Europe  up  to  the  18th  century  is  full  of 
parallel  disputes  on  racial  and  religious  grounds. 


76  YOUNG  INDIA 

government  was  an  Indian  government  and  not  a 
foreign  government. 

History  does  not  record  a  single  instance  of 
India  being  ruled  from  without,  by  a  people  of 
purely  non-Indian  blood  and  in  the  interests  of 
another  country  and  another  people,  before 
the  British.9  India  was  always  an  empire  by  her- 
self. She  was  never  a  part  of  another  empire, 
much  less  a  dependency.  She  had  her  own  army, 
her  own  navy,  her  own  flag.  Her  revenues  were 
spent  for  her  own  benefit.  She  had  her  industries 
and  manufactured  the  goods  she  consumed.  Any 
one  wanting  the  privilege  of  trading  with  India 
under  special  terms  had  to  obtain  the  sanction  of 
her  government,  as  the  East  India  Company  did. 
There  was  no  India  Office  in  Arabia  or  in  Persia 
or  in  Kabul,  to  which  the  people  of  India  looked 
for  initiative  in  the  affairs  of  their  native  land. 

INDIA    UNDER    THE   BRITISH 

India  under  the  British  is,  however,  entirely  dif- 
ferent.10    For  the  first  time  in  history  she  becomes 

9  It  is  said  that  for  a  short  time  a  small  portion  of  North- 
west India  formed  a  province  of  the  Empire  of  Darius  and 
paid  tribute  to  that  monarch,  but  the  government  was  all  the 
same  native. 

10  "  The  Asiatic  conquerors  very  soon  abated  their  ferocity, 
because  they  made  the  conquered  country  their  own.  They 
rose  or  fell  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  territory  they  lived  in. 
Fathers  there  deposited  the  hopes  of  their  posterity ;  the  chil- 
dren there  beheld  the  monuments  of  their  fathers.  Here  their 
lot  was  finally  cast ;  and  it  is  the  normal  wish  of  all  that  their 
lot  should  not  be  cast  in  bad  land.  Poverty,  sterility,  and  deso- 
lation are  not  a  recreating  prospect  to  the  eye  of  man,  and 
there  are  very  few  who  can  bear  to  grow  old  among  the  curses 
of  a  whole  people.    If  their  passion  or  avarice  drove  the  Tar- 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     77 

a  part  of  another  empire.  India  to-day  is  not  an 
empire  by  herself,  but  a  part  of  the  British  Empire, 
as  Britain  once  was  a  part  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
For  the  first  time  in  history  she  has  been  reduced 
to  the  position  of  a  dependency.  For  the  first  time 
in  her  history  she  is  ruled  from  the  outside.  For 
the  first  time  the  Indians  have  been  reduced  to  the 

tar  hordes  to  acts  of  rapacity  or  tyranny,  there  was  time  enough, 
even  in  the  short  life  of  man,  to  bring  round  the  ill  effects  of 
the  abuse  of  power  upon  the  power  itself.  If  hoards  were 
made  by  violence  and  tyranny,  they  were  still  domestic  hoards, 
and  domestic  profusion,  or  the  rapine  of  a  more  powerful  and 
prodigal  hand,  restored  them  to  the  people.  With  many  dis- 
orders and  with  few  political  checks  upon  power,  nature  had 
still  fair  play,  the  sources  of  acquisition  were  not  dried  up,  and 
therefore  the  trade,  the  manufactures,  and  the  commerce  of 
the  country  flourished.  Even  avarice  and  usury  itself  opera- 
ted both  for  the  preservation  and  the  employment  of  national 
wealth.  The  husbandman  and  manufacturer  paid  heavy  in- 
terest, but  then  they  augmented  the  fund  from  whence  they 
were  again  to  borrow.  Their  resources  were  dearly  bought, 
but  they  were  sure,  and  the  general  stock  of  the  community 
grew  by  the  general  effect. 

"  But  under  the  English  Government  all  this  order  is  re- 
versed. The  Tartar  invasion  was  mischievous,  but  it  is  our 
protection  that  destroys  India.  It  was  their  enmity,  but  it  is 
our  friendship.  Our  conquest  there,  after  twenty  years,  is  as 
crude  as  it  was  the  first  day.  The  natives  scarcely  know  what 
it  is  to  see  the  grey  head  of  an  Englishman ;  young  men,  boys 
almost,  govern  there,  without  society,  and  without  sympathy 
with  the  natives.  They  have  no  more  social  habits  with  the 
people  than  if  they  still  resided  in  England ;  nor,  indeed,  any 
species  of  intercourse  but  that  which  is  necessary  to  making  a 
sudden  fortune,  with  a  view  to  a  remote  settlement.  Animated 
with  all  the  avarice  of  age,  and  all  the  impetuosity  of  youth, 
they  roll  in  one  after  another,  wave  after  wave,  and  there  is 
nothing  before  the  eyes  of  the  natives  but  an  endless,  hopeless 
prospect  of  new  flights  of  birds  of  prey  and  passage,  with 
appetites  continually  renewing  for  a  food  that  is  continually 
wasting.  Every  rupee  of  profit  made  by  an  Englishman  is  lost 
forever  to  India."  (Edmund  Burke  in  a  speech  made  in  the 
House  of  Commons  in  1783  a.  d.  The  reflections  are  as  good, 
to-day,  as  they  were  then.) 


78  YOUNG  INDIA 

position  of  a  subject  people,  governed  by  an  alien 
race  residing  in  a  different  and  far-off  country. 
For  the  first  time  she  is  ruled  by  a  sovereign  who 
does  not  live  in  India,  who  sends  out  every  five  years 
a  viceroy  to  administer  the  affairs  of  the  country 
under  the  authority  of  a  minister  in  a  foreign  land. 
For  the  first  time  her  affairs  are  managed  by  people 
who  come  and  go,  under  laws  made  outside  of 
India.11  All  the  chief  offices  of  state,  the  direction 
and  control  of  armies,  the  administration  of  reve- 
nues, of  divisions,  of  districts,  the  coining  of  money, 
the  administration  of  justice,  the  imposing  of  taxes, 
etc.,  are  generally  in  the  hands  of  foreigners  who 
have  absolutely  no  interest  in  the  country  except 
as  servants  of  the  crown,  persons  whose  interests 
in  the  country  cease  with  the  expiration  of  their 
term  of  service.  These  servants  are  recruited  and 
appointed  out  of  India.  Indians  as  such  are  vir- 
tually ineligible  for  many  of  these  offices.  During 
the  150  years  of  British  rule  in  India,  no  Indian 
has  been  appointed  to  the  governorship  of  any  prov- 
ince. Indians  are  ineligible  for  commissions  in  the 
army;  they  cannot  be  enrolled  as  volunteers.  In 
order  to  qualify  for  the  Civil  service  of  their  own 
country,  they  have  to  travel  six  thousand  miles,  to 
take  the  chance  of  succeeding  once  in  a  while. 

Political  Disqualification  of  the  Indians.  For 
the  first  time  in  the  political  history  of  India 
it  has  become  a  political  disqualification  to  be  an 

11  The  constitution  of  the  Government  of  India  is  settled  by 
laws  made  by  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  in  which  India 
is  not  represented. 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     79 

Indian.  The  offspring  of  an  Englishman,  domi- 
ciled in  India  and  married  to  an  Indian  lady,  loses 
in  rank  and  status  by  that  fact;  nor  does  the  issue 
of  an  Indian  gentleman  from  an  Englishwoman 
gain  anything  thereby.  So  the  inferiority  in  both 
ways  lies  in  Indian  blood  and  Indian  origin.  The 
Muslim  who  married  in  India,  or  the  Indian  who 
married  a  Persian  or  Afghan,  were  not  affected 
thereby  in  their  political  privileges  in  the  Moham- 
medan regime.  An  Indian  convert  to  Christianity 
is  in  no  better  position  in  India  than  a  Hindu  or  a 
Muslim.  Thus  it  is  not  a  religious  inferiority  or 
a  religious  distinction,  upon  which  the  political  dis- 
abilities of  an  Indian  are  based,  but  the  fact  of  his 
being  an  Indian  by  blood  and  by  birth.  Never  be- 
fore was  India  governed  by  a  handful  of  officers, 
military  and  civil,  who  came  to  rule  for  a  period, 
going  away  when  that  period  was  over,  only  to  be 
replaced  by  another  set  equally  temporary.  India 
thus  loses  all  or  most  of  what  these  receive  in  the 
shape  of  money;  she  loses  all  the  experience  which 
they  gain  in  the  different  spheres  of  activity  that 
engages  them  during  the  period  of  their  service  in 
India;  last  but  not  least,  she  is  deprived  of  the  satis- 
faction and  pride  of  claiming  these  men  as  her  sons, 
who  would  in  their  turn  take  pride  in  her  and  feel 
as  sons  should  for  their  mother.  They  come  as 
her  rulers,  and  till  the  end  remain  the  same.  Their 
sons  and  grandsons  also  may  in  their  turn  come  as 
rulers,  but  never  as  sons.  The  sons  of  India,  who 
gain  the  rank  of  officials,  are  only  servants  of  the 
British.     Their  position  in  the  Indian  services  is 


80  YOUNG  INDIA 

generally  that  of  drawers  of  water  and  hewers  of 
wood  for  their  British  masters. 

All  Europeans,  Eurasians  including  Armenians 
and  Jews  can  carry  arms  free  of  license;  not  so  the 
Indians.  In  India,  the  Indians  only  are  forbidden 
to  carry  arms  except  by  special  permission  of  their 
masters;  and  permission  is  of  course  granted  very 
sparingly  and  as  a  matter  of  favour,  as  a  special  con- 
cession and  not  as  a  right.  The  highest,  the  noblest, 
and  the  purest  among  the  Indians  has  to  be  excepted 
from  the  operation  of  the  Arms  Act,  as  an  act  of 
mercy  on  the  part  of  his  foreign  rulers.  In  the  hills 
of  his  own  native  country,  where  his  parents,  grand- 
parents, and  great  grandparents  before  him  were 
born,  where  they  perhaps  ruled  or  held  positions  of 
trust,  where  they  died,  where  they  fertilised  the 
soil  with  their  blood,  and  where  within  less  than  a 
century  they  enjoyed  absolute  freedom,  he,  their 
immediate  descendant,  must  not  carry  an  umbrella 
over  his  head  to  give  him  shelter  from  rain  or  sun 
without  the  risk  of  being  kicked  to  death  or  being 
insulted  by  the  lowest  among  the  foreign  masters 
of  his  country.12  The  hoary  Himalayas,  the  be- 
loved abode  of  his  most  respected  divinities,  are  in 
some  places  virtually  shut  against  him  because  the 
"  white  gods  "  have  developed  a  fancy  for  them. 

But  that  is  not  all.  Even  outside  India  he  car- 
ries the  badge  of  political  subjection  with  him. 
The  British  colonies,  more  than  any  other  country, 
bang  their  doors  on  him.     He  is  a  pariah  all  over 

12  See  Sir  Henry  Cotton's  New  India  (1907),  pp.  68,  69  and 
70. 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     81 

the  world.  Considering  that  this  is  his  position  in 
his  home,  he  could  hardly  be  anything  else  outside. 
The  British  Government  does  not  like  his  going 
abroad  except  as  an  indentured  coolie  to  the  Brit- 
ish colonies.  He  may  go  to  England  on  a  pleasure 
trip,  but  they  do  not  want  Indians  there  in  any  num- 
bers. They  particularly  dislike  his  going  to  Amer- 
ica and  settling  there.  The  reason  is  obvious. 
Travelling  abroad  gives  him  opportunities  of  com- 
paring British  rule  in  India  with  the  forms  of 
government  prevailing  in  other  countries.  Free  at- 
mosphere and  free  environment  raise  aspirations 
which  are  dangerous,  at  any  rate  inconvenient 
to  British  supremacy  in  India.  Moreover,  they  ef- 
fectively break  down  the  hypnotism  which  has  so 
far  enthralled  the  Indian  mind  in  its  judgments  re- 
garding British  character.  On  his  return  to  India, 
a  travelled  Indian  becomes  a  centre  of  discontent. 
In  the  course  of  their  travels  some  Indians  meet 
the  free-thinkers  and  revolutionaries  of  Europe  and 
learn  their  methods.  All  this  is  naturally  disliked 
by  the  British. 

Therefore,  of  late,  the  British  have  been  taking 
steps  to  discourage  foreign  travelling  on  the  part 
of  Indians.  They  have  been  trying  to  keep  Indian 
students  out  of  Great  Britain  by  imposing  condi- 
tions which  are  repellent.  They  have  raised  the 
educational  standards  which  had  formerly  secured 
them  admission  into  British  universities  and  Brit- 
ish Inns  of  Court.  They  have  organised  an  official 
bureau  in  London  which,  ostensibly  acting  as  their 
guardian  and  adviser,  discourages  them  from  enter- 


82  YOUNG  INDIA 

ing  British  universities,  keeps  a  vigilant  eye  on  their 
movements,  reports  on  their  conduct  to  the  authori- 
ties at  home,  and  insists  upon  their  seeking  admis- 
sion to  British  educational  institutions  through  it.13 
At  all  Indian  ports  there  are  police  officers  present, 
who  note  down  the  names  of,  and  particulars  re- 
lating to,  every  Indian  who  leaves  Indian  shores. 
Thenceforth  two  eyes  are  almost  always  watching 
him,  go  wherever  he  may. 

To  him,  the  British  embassies  in  the  different 
countries  of  the  world  mean  nothing.  He  is  afraid 
of  seeking  their  help,  first  for  fear  of  getting  a 
rebuff  and  being  insulted,  second  because  he  is 
afraid  of  circumstances  being  created  which  might 
force  his  early  departure  from  that  country.  His 
wrongs  are  nobody's  wrongs.  He  may  be  as- 
saulted, nay,  even  killed,  or  insulted,  or  robbed,  or 
ill-treated,  yet  he  has  no  government  to  look  to  his 
interests.  The  British  Government  does  not  resent 
other  countries'  excluding  him;  they  are  rather 
happy  at  it  and  in  some  cases  are  understood  to 
have  exercised  their  influence  against  his  entry  into 
foreign  countries.  The  self-governing  dominions 
of  the  British  Empire  have  built  a  solid  wall  of 
most  revolting  and  inhuman  laws  and  regulations 
against  his  entry  into  those  dominions.  He  cannot 
go  there,  even  on  a  pleasure  trip  or  for  study,  except 
by  submitting  to  impossible  tests  or  most  revolting 
conditions. 

13  In  England  this  is  the  view  of  the  bulk  of  the  Indian 
student  community.  The  Government,  of  course,  repudiates 
that  view. 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     83 

In  this  respect  he  is  much  better  treated  by  non- 
British  countries.  Till  recently  he  could  come  and 
go  there  quite  freely.  No  European  country  bars 
his  visits.  Of  late  the  United  States,  it  is  said,  at 
the  instance  of  the  British  Government,  has  been 
following  a  policy  of  exclusion.  But  once  in  the 
country,  all  universities  and  institutions  receive 
him,  provided  he  fulfils  their  conditions  and  com- 
plies with  their  regulations.  That  much,  however, 
cannot  be  said  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  true  that 
Great  Britain  imposes  no  restrictions  on  his  coming 
and  going,  as  she  imposes  no  restrictions  on  any 
one  else's  coming  and  going,  but  there  are  British 
institutions  which  would  not  admit  him  as  a  stu- 
dent, however  high  his  social  position  or  status  may 
be.  Even  those  institutions  which  admit  him  for 
study,  discriminate  against  him  in  the  matter  of 
military  drill.  They  would  not  admit  him  into 
their  volunteer  corps;  nor  would  they  take  him  as 
a  boy  scout.  A  great  many  of  the  British  clubs 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  him.  The  only 
British  club  of  note,  which  has  a  fairly  good  num- 
ber of  Indians  on  its  rolls  and  which  accords  them 
a  welcome,  is  the  National  Liberal  Club.  This  club 
is  a  noble  exception. 

Now  the  British  must  be  an  extremely  unimag- 
inative people,  if  they  think  that  all  this  does  not 
make  the  Indian  feel  the  inferiority  of  his  position. 
The  latter,  naturally,  ascribes  all  this  to  the  fact 
of  his  country's  having  no  national  government  of 
her  own  to  protect  him  and  to  advance  his  interests. 
All  this  reminds  him  most  forcibly  of  the  fact  that 


84  YOUNG  INDIA 

he  belongs  to  a  subject  race,  that  his  country  does 
not  count  in  the  world  because  she  is  not  free  and 
has  no  embassies,  that  she  has  no  flag  of  her  own, 
nor  consular  representatives  to  back  her  sons,  and 
that  in  the  great  mass  of  civilised  humanity  he  is 
a  mere  cypher.  All  this  naturally  tells  on  his 
nerves  and  he  becomes  an  extremist.  He  feels  that 
anything  would  be  preferable  to  this  life  of  shame 
and  dishonor. 

It  is  difficult  for  people  who  have  never  been 
placed  in  a  similar  position  to  realise  the  sense  of 
humiliation  and  shame  involved  in  this  condition 
of  things.  Let  the  British  for  a  moment  imagine 
themselves  under  similar  circumstances,  and  they 
may  then  be  in  a  position  to  appreciate  the  point  of 
view  of  an  Indian  nationalist.  Let  us  suppose  for 
a  moment  that  the  Germans  conquer  England  and 
impose  their  rule  on  the  British  race.  How  would 
the  British  like  their  country  being  administered  by 
a  viceroy  of  the  Kaiser  selected  by  the  German 
Chancellor,  with  the  help  of  a  council  consisting 
of  Germans  and  of  a  bureaucracy  recruited  almost 
exclusively  from  Prussia,  with  only  a  sprinkling  of 
native  Britishers?  No  one  can  question  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  German  system.  The  strong  hand  of 
Germany  might  keep  Ireland  in  peace  and  prevent 
the  suffragists  and  the  socialists  and  the  Roman 
Catholics  disturbing  public  tranquillity.  They 
might  even  employ  a  whole  army  of  Britishers  in 
the  subordinate  posts,  might  pay  them  handsomely 
for  military  and  police  duty,  might  confer  decora- 
tions and  titles  on  them,  might  build  even  greater 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     85 

engineering  works  for  them  than  they  had  ever 
done,  and  might  let  them  retain  their  language  for 
elementary  education  or  for  religious  or  domestic 
purposes.  Would  the  English  be  satisfied  and 
would  they  be  contented?  Would  they  consider 
German  rule  to  be  a  blessing  and  judge  it  by  trade 
returns  ?  Never ! 13a  Why  then,  should  they  ques- 
tion the  patriotism  or  good  sense  of  the  Indians 
who  want  self-government  for  India?  Did  not 
Sir  Henry  Campbell-Bannerman  say  that  good 
government  could  never  be  a  substitute  for  self- 
go.vernment  ? 

The  fact  is,  that  it  is  impossible  for  a  free-born 
citizen  of  a  free  country  to  put  himself  in  the  posi- 
tion of  a  political  subject  and  realise  fully  and 
properly  the  sense  of  humiliation  and  shame  in- 
volved therein.  The  feeling  is  unknown  to  him, 
and  he  has  not  sufficient  imagination  to  place  him- 
self in  that  position.  Why  cannot  a  Britisher  see 
that  every  Indian,  visiting  foreign  countries,  has  to 
hang  his  head  in  shame? 

British  statesmen,  politicians,  publicists  and  jour- 
nalists all  talk  of  the  blessings  of  British  rule  in 
India,  of  what  the  British  have  done  there  in  estab- 
lishing peace  and  order,  in  making  railways  and 
canals,  in  imparting  education,  in  stimulating  trade, 
in  administering  impartial  justice,  in  fostering  in- 

13a  In  this  connection  we  may  refer  the  reader  to  an  excellent 
article  published  in  the  New  Statesman  (London)  dated  April 
I,  1916,  called,  "  If  the  Germans  conquered  England."  With  the 
alteration  of  England  for  Germany  and  India  for  England  the 
article  would  make  an  excellent  exposition  of  the  position  of 
the  Indian  Nationalist. 


86  YOUNG  INDIA 

dustries,  in  organising  the  postal  and  the  telegraph 
systems,  and  in  opening  the  country  to  the  world. 
They  cannot  see  why  the  Indian  should  wish  to  get 
rid  of  the  British.  The  British  have  done  so  much 
for  him,  have  brought  civilisation  to  his  door,  have 
raised  him  from  "  obscurity,"  have  given  him  their 
language  and  their  institutions,  have  opened  to  him 
the  gates  of  knowledge,  have  provided  for  him 
security  from  both  domestic  and  foreign  dangers, 
and  have  put  him  on  the  road  to  ever-increasing 
prosperity  and  "  happiness."  Let  us  assume  for 
the  moment  that  all  this  is  wholly  true,  but  can  it 
compensate  for  the  loss  of  manhood  which  is  in- 
volved in  political  bondage?  Chains  are  chains,  no 
matter  if  gilded.  Can  the  wealth  of  the  whole 
world  be  put  in  the  scales  over  against  liberty  and 
honour?  What  would  it  avail  if  one  were  to  get 
the  sovereignty  of  the  world  but  lose  his  own  soul? 
A  subject  people  has  no  soul,  just  as  a  slave  can 
have  none.  Subjects  and  slaves  are  not  even  the 
masters  of  their  bodies. 

An  Indian  leader,  a  high-class  Bengali  lawyer, 
who  is  now  one  of  His  Majesty's  judges  in  the 
High  Court  of  Calcutta,  once  said,  while  presiding 
over  a  conference  in  Bengal  before  he  became  a 
judge,  that  a  subject  people  could  have  no  politics. 
A  people  who  have  no  politics  have  no  soul.  A 
man  without  a  soul  is  a  mere  animal.  A  nation 
without  a  soul  is  only  a  herd  of  "  dumb  driven  cat- 
tle," and  such  are  the  Indians  of  the  present  day. 
It  is  a  base  calumny,  and  a  mean  falsehood  to  say 
in  reply,  that  they  have  been  so  from  time  imme- 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     87 

morial,  that  they  have  never  been  free,  that  they 
have  never  cared  who  ruled  over  them,  that  they 
have  never  been  patriotic,  or  that  patriotism  and  a 
feeling  of  nationality  are  new  growths  due  to  con- 
tact with  the  West,  and  that  the  Indian  people  do 
not  sympathise  with  the  aspirations  of  the  nation- 
alists. Of  course,  there  are  some  people  in  India, 
as  elsewhere,  who,  through  rolling  in  wealth,  living 
in  purple,  inheriting  long  pedigrees,  carrying  high 
titles,  bearing  proud  names,  seem  to  be  happy  and 
contented  under  the  existing  conditions.  For  them, 
the  security  from  molestation  they  have,  the  free- 
dom of  enjoyment  they  possess,  the  comforts  and 
luxuries  which  they  command,  the  pleasure  which  is 
born  of  inactive,  lazy,  parasitic,  debauched  lives,  is 
all  in  all.  Any  change  may  bring  all  this  edifice 
down;  it  may  spell  ruin  to  them  and  their  children. 
The  immunity  from  work,  which  they  at  present  en- 
joy, may  all  disappear  by  a  change  of  political  con- 
ditions. The  British  Government  has  guaranteed 
them  not  only  their  possessions,  but  also  their  right 
to  live  and  thrive  on  the  ignorance,  the  supersti- 
tions, and  the  mental  and  moral  slavery  of  their 
followers  and  subjects. 

Such  are  some  of  the  Nabobs  and  Maharajas  of 
India.  Many  of  them  might  have  to  cut  stones  and 
make  roads  to  earn  their  living,  if  they  were  not 
protected  by  British  bayonets.  Their  harems  con- 
sisting of  numerous  innocent  women  doomed  to 
life-long  imprisonment,  to  lives  of  barrenness  and 
shame  and  emptiness,  their  big  cellars  full  of  the 
choicest  and  the  oldest  of  whiskies,  brandies,  and 


88  YOUNG  INDIA 

champagnes,  their  stables  full  of  the  swiftest  and 
the  noblest  of  race  horses,  their  drawing  rooms 
decorated  with  gold,  silver,  silk  and  velvet,  all  that 
money  can  buy  and  art  can  embellish,  their  dining 
tables  laden  with  all  inviting  dishes  and  delicacies 
which  the  best  paid  cuisine  in  the  world  can  pro- 
duce, their  ability  to  travel  in  special  trains  and 
gorgeous  saloons,  and  to  command  a  new  woman 
and  a  new  wine  every  day  of  the  year,  and  to  move 
in  the  most  fashionable  circles, —  all  depend  on  the 
continuance  of  the  existing  conditions.  For  them, 
this  is  life.  They  do  not  know  what  honour  is. 
For  them,  struggle,  strife,  duty,  political  change, 
mean  a  dislocation  of  everything  dear  to  them.  It 
would  be  practical  death  to  them.  Yes,  it  may  be 
true  that  such  people  do  not  care  for  political  lib- 
erty, for  freedom,  for  independence,  for  patriotism. 
For  them,  their  present  life  is  bliss  and  they  do  not 
want  to  be  molested  either  by  the  politician  or  by 
the  patriot. 

But  their  number  is  not  large.  Some  of  the  rul- 
ing chiefs  may  not  speak  out,  but  in  their  heart  of 
hearts  many  of  them  feel  the  humiliation  of  the 
situation.  A  Maharana  of  Udeypore  may  not  be 
in  a  position  to  assert  his  independence  and  take  the 
chance  of  losing  his  State,  but  even  he  may  not  con- 
sent to  walk  behind  a  Curzon  in  a  coronation  pro- 
cession in  honour  of  the  King  of  England  and  the 
foreign  Emperor  of  India.  A  Gaekwar  of  Baroda 
may  be  powerless  as  against  the  British  army  and 
British  navy,  but  even  he,  in  a  moment  of  exalted 
self-respect,  may  forget  to  make  an  abject  obeisance 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     89 

to  the  King  of  England.  Such  men  and  even  many 
of  less  worth  and  nobility,  cannot  put  up  with  a 
Lord  Curzon.  It  is  good  for  their  sense  of  self- 
respect  and  also  for  the  country  at  large  to  have  a 
Curzon  for  a  viceroy.  It  reminds  them,  as  nothing 
else  perhaps  would,  of  their  degradation  and  fall. 

It  is  very  interesting  to  observe  how  the  Indian 
Chiefs  writhe  and  fret  and  foam  when  a  Curzon 
threatens  their  privileges,  tries  to  limit  their  free- 
dom, and  otherwise  trespasses  upon  their  rights. 
It  is  then  that  a  wave  of  shame  sweeps  over  them 
and  touches  some  lingering  sense  of  self-respect  and 
pride  in  their  hearts.  But  the  infamous,  lazy,  de- 
bauched lives  which  some  of  them  have  led  make 
it  impossible  for  them  to  maintain  this  indignation 
long  enough  for  it  to  goad  them  to  any  sustained 
effort  to  throw  away  their  thraldom  and  assert 
their  manhood.  The  injecting  of  an  electric  cur- 
rent may  temporarily  revive  a  dead  body,  may  pro- 
duce some  kind  of  activity  even  in  a  parasite,  but 
it  cannot  put  life  into  it. 

But  after  all,  as  compared  with  the  number  of 
people  who  are  alive  to  the  sense  of  self-respect  and 
honour,  the  parasitical  crowned  heads  or  priests  or 
noblemen  (Nabobs,  Rajas,  and  Maharajas)  are 
only  a  few.  They  are  a  mere  drop  in  the  ocean, 
though  they  possess  the  means  of  keeping  them- 
selves in  the  public  eye  and  of  having  their  trum- 
pets blown  and  praises  sung  by  the  press  and  from 
the  platform  both  in  India  and  in  England.  The 
British  too  are  interested  in  keeping  them  at  the 
front,  in  parading  their  loyalty  and  devotion  to  the 


90  YOUNG  INDIA 

empire,  and  in  magnifying  their  importance  and 
greatness. 

There  are  few  among  the  nobility  of  India  who 
command  any  real  respect  either  from  the  educated 
section  of  their  countrymen  in  general,  or  even 
from  their  own  subjects  and  dependents.  Of 
course  there  are  noble  exceptions  to  this  statement. 
And  yet  it  is  true  that  a  large  number  of  ruling 
chiefs  are  mere  figureheads  in  their  states.  Their 
policy  is  either  dictated  or  guided  or  controlled  by 
the  British  Resident  or  the  British  Political  Agent 
through  his  creatures  or  through  persons,  who, 
though  not  quite  his  creatures,  are  afraid  of  his 
displeasure.  In  some  states,  the  Resident  inter- 
feres in  almost  everything,  and  all  the  details  of 
administration  pass  through  his  fingers  either  di- 
rectly or  indirectly.  In  others,  the  Resident 
watches  the  administration  from  a  distance  and  lays 
down  the  broad  outlines  of  policy.  There  are  few 
native  states,  their  number  may  be  counted  on  one's 
fingers,  where  the  ruling  chief  has  a  will  or  capacity 
to  really  assert  himself,  to  stand  on  his  dignity,  and 
to  maintain  his  independence.  Even  the  most  en- 
lightened and  the  most  independent  Prince  is  com- 
pelled to  consult  the  wishes  of  the  Resident  and  the 
wishes  of  the  Government  of  India  as  expressed  by 
him. 

Loyalty  of  Ruling  Chiefs.  It  would  be  quite 
wrong  to  conclude,  as  some  people  do,  that  all 
the  ruling  chiefs  are  sincerely  loyal  to  the  British 
supremacy,  or  that  their  acts  displaying  loyalty 
are  free  and  independent  expressions  of  their  minds 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     91 

or  their  will.14  Some  of  them  are  devoid  of 
any  real  sense  of  honour,  or  are  lost  to  it  by  habit- 
ual submission  or  habitual  debauchery.  They  are 
quite  contented  to  be  left  alone  to  enjoy.  There 
are  others,  however,  who  would  be  only  too 
glad  to  throw  away  the  British  yoke,  if  they  could 
only  see  a  way  of  successfully  doing  so.  They  are 
not  prepared  to  take  their  chances.  It  should  be 
distinctly  understood,  therefore,  that  the  National- 
ist Party  does  not  count  upon  their  help  or  sympa- 
thy. A  good  many  perhaps  sympathise  with  the 
party  of  violence,  and  chuckle  at  their  successes,  but 
none  of  them  dare  do  anything  to  help  them  in  any 
shape.  A  few  openly  sympathise  with  the  "  con- 
stitutional "  party,  but  even  they  cannot  and  would 
not  give  them  any  monetary  or  other  kind  of  help 
as  it  might  easily  be  construed  into  an  act  of  un- 
friendliness towards  the  Paramount  Power,  and 
might  mar  their  relations  with  that. 

The  smaller  fry,  the  wealthy  banker,  the  great 
landlord,  the  Bengal  Zemindar,  and  the  Oudh 
Talukdar,  are  almost  completely  in  the  hands  of 
the  British  officials.  The  sympathy  of  the  British 
officials  benefits  them  materially.  Their  antipathy 
or  dislike  or  aversion  would  ruin  them  financially. 
The  British  collector  or  magistrate  holds  complete 
sway  over  their  souls.  They  would  rather  go  out 
of  their  way  to  propitiate  him  and  win  his  pleasure, 
than  risk  the  slightest  suspicion  of  an  independent 
attitude,  or  of  any  conduct  which  even  by  stretch 
of  imagination  could  be  construed  into  independ- 

14  See  New  India  by  Sir  Henry  Cotton,  1907,  p.  34. 


92  YOUNG  INDIA 

ence.  Yet  there  are  some,  in  Bengal  at  least,  who 
do  sympathise  with,  and  give  active  help  to,  the 
Revolutionary  Party.  There  are  others  who  sym- 
pathise with,  and  give  occasional  monetary  assist- 
ance to,  the  Constitutional  Party.  The  latter  class 
does  not  count  for  much  in  Indian  politics,  and  any- 
thing said  or  done  by  them  cannot  be  said  to  repre- 
sent the  attitude  of  any  very  large  section  of  the 
Indian  community. 

Men  of  wealth  and  men  of  means  have  nowhere 
led  the  revolutionary  or  the  political  movements  in 
the  history  of  freedom  in  this  world  of  ours. 
Their  interests  as  a  class  are  opposed  to  change. 
Sometimes  there  does  arise  from  among  their  ranks 
a  man  of  courage,  a  man  endowed  with  an  adven- 
turous nature  or  fired  by  ambition,  who  leads  the 
movement  for  change,  in  the  hope  of  either  estab- 
lishing a  dynasty,  or  otherwise  leaving  a  name  in 
history;  and  sometimes  one  comes  across  a  wealthy 
man  who,  out  of  regard  for  principle,  and  from 
conviction,  is  a  patriot,  and  joins  the  patriotic  party 
deliberately,  and  risks  his  possessions  and  position; 
but  such  instances  are  always  few  and  far  between 
in  all  countries. 

Middle  Class  Desires  Political  Freedom.  The  de- 
sire for  political  independence,  the  sense  of  shame 
and  humiliation  born  of  being  a  subject  race,  of 
being  a  political  pariah,  must  from  the  nature 
of  things  be  confined  largely  to  the  educated 
middle  class.  Even  the  masses  could  not  be  ex- 
pected to  take  a  very  deep  interest  in  the  movement 
for  political  independence.    Their  ignorance,  their 


VIEWPOINT  OF  THE  NATIONALIST     93 

illiteracy,  but  most  of  all  the  hard  struggle  they 
have  to  carry  on  for  barest  existence,  prevents  them 
from  devoting  time  or  thought  to  the  question. 
Their  time  and  thought  are  given  to  the  fight  against 
hunger  and  want,  against  disease  and  distress, 
against  misery  and  wretchedness.  They  are  easy 
to  please.  A  slight  act  of  kindness  or  of  charity 
or  of  consideration  makes  them  happy.  They  are 
easily  confused  on  fundamental  issues.  This  is 
true  even  in  Europe  and  America,  where  the  com- 
mon people  have  received  the  benefits  of  school  edu- 
cation, and  where  they  have  had  a  training  in 
democratic  thought  for  a  century  or  more.  The 
masses  are  easily  led  astray  by  governments  or  by 
classes  in  league  with  governments.  In  every 
country  it  is  the  educated  middle  class  that  leads  the 
movement  for  political  independence  or  for  politi- 
cal progress.  It  is  the  strength  of  their  convic- 
tions, their  earnestness,  their  capacity  to  suffer  for 
their  convictions,  their  willingness  to  sacrifice  them- 
selves for  principles  and  for  truth,  coupled  with  the 
extent  and  amount  of  their  influence  over  the 
masses,  which  determines  the  fate  of  the  movement 
for  liberty. 

A  movement  of  that  nature  never  dies.  "  The 
battle  of  freedom  once  begun  is  carried  on  from  fa- 
ther to  son,"  is  as  good  to-day  as  it  ever  was.  Yet 
the  movement  may  be  delayed,  or  its  issue  may  be 
confused,  or  the  contrary,  according  to  the  wisdom 
or  the  folly  of  its  advocates,  or  the  amount  of  earn- 
estness they  put  in  it,  or  the  amount  of  influence  they 
have  over  the  masses,  as  well  as  by  the  wisdom  or 


94  YOUNG  INDIA 

shortsightedness  or  cunning  of  those  who  oppose  it. 
All  the  world  over,  progressive  political  movements 
have  had  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  stages  of  develop- 
ment, times  of  reactions,  defeats  and  reverses. 
Governments  always  begin  by  ignoring  such  move- 
ments. Then  comes  a  period  of  ridicule,  followed 
by  repression.  But  their  efforts  are  futile.  The 
food  on  which  the  tender  plant  of  liberty  thrives  is 
the  blood  of  the  martyr.  The  rope  of  the  hang- 
man, the  axe  of  the  executioner,  or  the  shot  of  the 
gunner,  extinguishes  individual  life,  only  to  make 
the  desire  for  corporate  life  keener  and  stronger. 
Banishments,  deportations,  imprisonments,  tortures 
and  confiscations,  are  the  usual  weapons  of  the 
tyrant  to  strangle  liberty,  to  extirpate  those  that  are 
after  it,  but  they  have  so  far  proved  ineffectual  to 
kill  it.  Conciliation  is  sometimes  more  successful 
than  repression,  but  conciliation  delayed  or  conces- 
sions forced  have  been  proved  to  be  worse  than  use- 
less. The  Nationalist  Movement  in  India  has 
passed  through  some  of  these  stages,  and  is  passing 
through  the  rest.  We  presume  it  will  be  of  some 
interest  and  use  to  trace  its  development,  and  to 
make  a  retrospective  review  of  its  successes  and 
failures  so  far.15 

15  It  should  be  noted  that  the  evils  complained  of  in  this 
chapter  are  the  evils  of  the  system  which,  in  the  words  of  John 
Stuart  Mill,  is  unnatural,  and  the  unnaturalness  of  which  is 
recognised  in  full  by  many  fair-minded  Britishers.  It  was 
recognised  so  far  back  as  18,35  by  the  British  historian  Wilson 
in  his  concluding  remarks  in  the  last  chapter  of  Hj*  tnonumen- 
tal  History  of  British  India. 


CHAPTER  II 

INDIA  FROM  1757  TO  1857  A.  D. 

Aurangzeb,  the  6th  Mogul  Emperor  of  India, 
died  in  1707  a.  d.  Within  fifty  years  of  his  death, 
the  Mogul  sovereignty  in  India  was  reduced  to  its 
last  gasp.  The  seeds  sown  by  his  bigotry,  fanati- 
cism, and  suspicious  nature  were  ripening  and 
bringing  to  his  successors  a  harvest  of  dissensions 
and  discords,  of  rebellions  and  revolts.  In  the 
North  as  well  as  the  South,  forces  had  been  gen- 
erated which  threatened  the  end  of  the  Mogul  rule. 
The  martyrdom  of  Guru  Teg  Bahadur,  the  Sikh 
Guru,  who  was  foully  murdered  at  Delhi,  where  he 
had  gone  on  a  mission  of  peace,  had  sunk  deep  into 
the  hearts  of  his  followers,  and  his  son,  Guru 
Govind  Singh,  was  organising  forces  which  were 
destined  to  supplant  Mogul  rule  in  the  Land  of  the 
Five  Rivers.1  In  the  Deccan,  Sivaji's2  standard 
and  throne  had  become  the  rallying  point  of  the 
fighting  forces  of  Southern  India. 

By  1757  a.  d.,  the  Sikhs  in  the  Punjab  and  the 
Mahrattas  in  the  Deccan  had  succeeded  in  under- 
mining the  foundations  of  the  Mogul  rule,  which 
was  now  steadily  disintegrating.  The  Nizam  of 
Hyderabad,  and  the  Nawab  of  Mysore  had  asserted 

1The  Punjab. 

2  Sivaji  was  the  founder  of  the  Mahratta  Empire  in  India. 

95 


96  YOUNG  INDIA 

their  independence  and  were  disputing  the  mastery 
of  the  Deccan  with  the  Mahrattas.  Similarly  the 
Nabobs  of  Bengal  and  Oudh  owed  only  nominal 
allegiance  to  the  King  of  Delhi.  The  greater  part 
of  the  peninsula,  Central  India,  was  under  the 
Mahrattas. 

Conflict  of  French  and  English  in  India.  The 
political  fate  of  India  was  hanging  in  the  bal- 
ance, when  a  power  arose  to  take  advantage  of 
the  disturbed  conditions  of  things.  The  French 
and  the  English  both  entered  the  arena,  taking  dif- 
ferent sides,  and  began  to  shuffle  their  cards.  They 
sold  their  help  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  at  the 
conclusion  of  every  game,  or  even  in  the  midst  of 
it,  changed  partners  as  often  as  they  could  in  the 
interest  of  their  respective  masters.  The  first  mili- 
tary achievement  of  note,  which  gave  decisive  ad- 
vantage to  the  British,  was  at  the  battle  of  Plassey 
in  1757.  That  practically  gave  them  the  key  to 
the  sovereignty  of  India.  From  1757  to  1857  was 
the  century  of  struggle,  both  military  and  diplo- 
matic. The  one  end  kept  in  view  was  the  making 
of  the  Empire  and  the  amassing  of  wealth. 

How  British  Rule  in  India  was  Established. 
Hindus  were  played  against  the  Mohammedans, 
and  vice  versa,  states  and  principalities  against 
states  and  principalities,  Jats  against  Rajputs,  and 
Rajputs  against  Jats,  Mahrattas  against  both,  Ro- 
hillas  against  Bundelas,  and  Bundelas  against 
Pathans,  and  so  on.  Treaties  were  made  and 
broken  without  the  least  scruple,  sides  were  taken 
and  changed  and  again  changed  without  the  least 


INDIA  FROM  1757  TO  1857  A.  D.      97 

consideration  of  honour  or  faith.  Thrones  were 
purchased  and  sold  to  the  highest  bidder.  Military 
support  was  purchased  and  given  like  merchandise. 
Servants  were  induced  to  betray  their  masters,  sol- 
diers to  desert  flags,  without  any  regard  to  the 
morality  of  the  steps  taken.  Pretences  were  in- 
vented and  occasions  sought  for  involving  states 
and  principalities  in  wars  and  trouble.  Laws  of 
all  kinds,  national  and  international,  moral  and  re- 
ligious, were  all  for  the  time  thrown  into  the  dis- 
card. Neither  minors  nor  widows  received  any 
consideration;  the  young  and  the  old  were  treated 
alike.  The  one  object  in  view  was  to  loot,  to 
plunder,  and  to  make  an  empire.  Everything  was 
subordinated  to  that  end.  One  has  only  to  read 
Mill  and  Wilson's  "History  of  British  India," 
Burke's  "  Impeachment  of  Warren  Hastings,"  Tor- 
rens'  "  Our  Empire  in  Asia,"  Wilson's  "  Sword  and 
Ledger,"  Bell's  "Annexation  of  the  Punjab"  to 
find  out  that  the  above  is  a  bare  and  moderate  state- 
ment of  truth. 

Methods  of  Consolidation  of  British  India.  Poli- 
cies (fiscal,  industrial,  religious,  educational)  were 
all  discussed  and  formulated  from  one  point  of 
view,  viz.,  the  establishing  of  British  authority,  the 
consolidation  of  British  rule,  and  pecuniary  gain 
to  the  East  India  Company.  If  one  were  to  pile 
up  "  scraps  of  paper  "  which  the  British  destroyed 
or  disregarded  in  the  making  of  their  Indian  em- 
pire, one  could  fill  a  decent  sized  box  therewith. 
The  administrations  of  Wellesley  and  Dalhousie 
alone  would  furnish  sufficient  material  for  the  pur- 


98  YOUNG  INDIA 

pose.  We  do  not  know  of  anything  in  Indian  his- 
tory which  could  be  compared  with  the  deeds  of 
this  century.  It  was  a  century  of  consistent,  pro- 
longed, and  deliberate  spoliation,  subtle  and  scien- 
tific sometimes,  in  the  pursuance  of  which  all  laws 
of  morality,  humanity,  and  fairness  were  tossed 
aside,  and  the  object  in  view  was  persistently  and 
doggedly  kept  in  view  and  achieved.  It  was  not 
the  doing  of  this  man  or  that  man,  but,  with  some 
noble  exceptions,  of  the  whole  body  of  Administra- 
tors sent  by  the  East  India  Company  to  manage 
their  affairs  in  the  East.  The  policies  and  doings 
of  the  various  rulers  that  were  sent  from  England 
to  administer  the  affairs  of  India  differed  in  degree 
only. 

British  Public  Ignorant  of  Facts.  It  is  true  that 
the  British  people  as  a  whole  had  no  notion 
of  what  was  going  on  in  India.  They  were  as  ig- 
norant of  it,  then,  as  they  are  to-day  of  the 
doings  of  their  countrymen  in  that  vast  "  conti- 
nent." It  sufficed  for  them  to  know  that  their 
countrymen  were  carving  an  empire  there,  conquer- 
ing provinces  and  bringing  millions  of  alien  people 
under  British  rule;  as  it  suffices  for  them  to  know 
to-day  that  they  have  an  empire  in  India.  India 
brought  them  wealth  and  material  prosperity.  In- 
dividuals became  fabulously  rich  and  their  wealth 
filtered  downward  and  filled  the  whole  British 
nation.  The  nation  became  rich  by  the  dividends 
of  the  East  India  Company,  and  by  the  enormous 
profits  which  British  manufacturers  and  British 
traders  made  by  the  fact  of  British  supremacy  in 


INDIA  FROM  1757  TO  1857  A.  D.      99 

India.  That  was  enough  for  the  nation.  Even 
when  their  moral  sense  was  at  times  shocked  by 
certain  disclosures,  which  by  chance  found  their 
way  into  the  press  or  into  the  literature  of  the  coun- 
try, it  was  soon  calmed  and  set  at  rest  by  the 
speeches  made  by  the  statesmen  at  the  helm  of  af- 
fairs, who  explained  them  away,  excused  their 
authors  on  political  grounds,  and  laid  down  in  high, 
grandiloquent  terms  that  the  general  aim  of  British 
rule  in  India  was  beneficent,  and  that  this  aim  was 
steadily  being  pursued.  The  impeachment  of  War- 
ren Hastings  by  Burke  should  have  opened  the  eyes 
of  the  British  public  as  to  what  was  happening  in 
India;  but  the  eventual  acquittal  of  that  famous 
pro-consul  set  matters  at  rest.  And  Warren  Has- 
tings was  by  no  means  the  worst  offender.  What 
happened  then  is  happening  every  day  in  India,  only 
in  a  different  way  and  on  a  different  scale. 

Yet  I  am  not  disposed  to  criticise  the  British  pub- 
lic. Democracies  have  no  time  for  the  critical 
examination  of  the  affairs  of  other  countries  and 
other  people.  They  have  their  own  trouble,  enough 
and  to  spare.  They  look  to  material  benefits,  and 
their  imagination  is  fired  and  their  mind  is  thrilled 
by  the  fact  of  so  many  millions  being  under  their 
rule.  In  the  case  of  the  British,  both  combined 
make  them  proud  of  their  countrymen,  who  rule 
and  administer  India  in  their  name.  They  have  no 
reason  to  be  critical.  Human  nature  is  human 
nature  after  all.  Ordinary  human  nature  is  not 
inclined  to  be  critical  at  gains,  especially  when  it 
does  not  directly  feel  the  iniquity  of  the  methods 


ioo  YOUNG  INDIA 

by  which  those  gains  are  made.  But  this  is  only 
by  the  way. 

To  continue  the  thread  of  my  narrative:  the  his- 
tory of  British  "  conquest  "  of  India  from  1757  to 
1857  a.  d.  is  a  continuous  record  of  political  charla- 
tanry, political  faithlessness,  and  political  immoral- 
ity. It  was  a  triumph  of  British  "  diplomacy." 
The  British  founders  of  the  Indian  empire  had  the 
true  imperial  instincts  of  empire-builders.  They 
cared  little  for  the  means  which  they  employed. 
Moral  theorists  cannot  make  empires.  Empires 
can  only  be  built  by  unscrupulous  men  of  genius, 
men  of  daring  and  dash,  making  the  best  of  oppor- 
tunities that  come  to  their  hands,  caring  little  for 
the  wrongs  which  they  thereby  inflict  on  others,  or 
the  dishonesties  or  treacheries  or  breaches  of  faith 
involved  therein.  Empires  can  only  be  conceived 
by  Napoleons,  Bismarcks,  Disraelis,  Richelieus,  and 
Machiavellis.  They  can  only  be  built  by  Gives, 
Hastings,  Wellesleys,  and  Dalhousies.  Burkes  and 
Gladstones  cannot  do  that  work,  nor  can  Morleys, 
though  they  may  connive  at  others  doing  it,  and 
might  accept  it  as  fait  accompli. 

Conquest  of  India  Diplomatic,  not  Military.  The 
British  conquest  of  India  was  not  a  military 
conquest  in  any  sense  of  the  term.  They  could  not 
conquer  India  except  by  playing  on  the  fears  of 
some  and  the  hopes  of  others,  and  by  seeking  and 
getting  the  help  of  Indians,  both  moral  and  mate- 
rial. The  record  is  as  black  as  it  could  be;  but 
nothing  succeeds  like  success,  and  all  that  is  largely 
a  forgotten  page  so  far  as  the  present  generation 


INDIA  FROM  1757  TO  1857  A.  D.      101 

of  Indians  is  concerned.  Only  one  feels  disposed 
to  smile  when  one  hears  of  Indian  nationalists  being 
charged  in  British-Indian  courts  with  attempting  to 
subvert  "  the  government  established  by  law." 
One  is  inclined  to  ask  "  By  what  law?  "  and  "  Who 
made  that  law  ?  " 

The  Great  Indian  Mutiny  of  1857.  We  have, 
however,  referred  to  this  story  in  these  few  words 
only  to  introduce  the  great  Indian  mutiny  of  1857, 
as  the  first  Indian  political  movement  of  the  nine- 
teenth century.  The  movement  was  national  as 
well  as  political.  The  underlying  causes  and  the 
contributory  forces  were  many.  The  union  of  the 
Hindus  and  Mohammedans,  the  thoroughness  of 
the  organisation  which  preceded  the  mutiny,  the 
stubbornness  with  which  the  mutineers  fought,  and 
the  comparatively  few  treacheries  that  characterised 
the  mutinous  campaign,  all  point  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. 

The  mutiny,  however,  failed  because  the  people 
on  the  whole  had  no  faith  in  the  constructive  ca- 
pacity of  the  mutineers.  The  mutineers  had  no 
doubt  agreed  to  postpone  the  question  of  the  con- 
structive ends  in  view,  until  after  they  had  turned 
out  the  British,  but  the  people  could  not.  The  peo- 
ple's patience  had  been  exhausted  by  the  military 
activities  of  the  preceding  century  and  the  accom- 
panying disorder  and  anarchy,  and  they  saw  before 
them  the  possibility  of  a  recurrence  of  the  same  in 
the  case  of  success  attending  the  arms  of  the  muti- 
neers. They  hated  the  British;  the  Indian  nobility 
and  aristocracy,  as  well  as  the  Indian  people,  hated 


102  YOUNG  INDIA 

them.  They  sympathised  with  the  mutineers;  but 
they  helped  them  only  half-heartedly.  They  had  no 
faith  in  them.  The  ruling  families  of  India,  the 
aristocracy  and  the  nobility,  were  perhaps  more 
dreaded  and  hated  by  the  people  than  were  the  Brit- 
ish. There  was  no  one  to  rally  them  to  one 
standard. 

How  the  Mutiny  was  Put  Down.  Here  again 
it  was  British  "  diplomacy  "  that  saved  the  British 
situation.  The  British  rallied  to  their  support  the 
newly  born  aristocracy  of  the  Punjab, —  the  Sikhs. 
The  Sikhs  had  been  persecuted  and  oppressed  by  the 
Mohammedans.  They  were  not  in  a  mood  to  look 
favourably  at  the  chance  of  Mohammedan  suprem- 
acy being  re-established  in  India.  They  had  had 
enough  of  the  "  Turk,"  as  they  called  every  Mo- 
hammedan; and  they  threw  the  whole  weight  of 
their  recently  gathered  virility  on  the  side  of  the 
British.  They  were  told  and  they  believed,  that  in 
crushing  the  Mohammedan  power,  they  were  re- 
venging themselves  on  the  slayers  of  Guru  Teg 
Bahadur,  the  oppressors  of  Guru  Govind  Singh,  and 
the  murderers  of  his  sons.  It  was  the  thought  of 
Sirhind  and  the  incidents  associated  with  the  name 
of  that  cursed  place,3  that  goaded  them  to  the  de- 
struction of  the  last  chance  of  Mohammedan  su- 
premacy in  India. 

The  mutiny  failed,  but  its  course  showed  with 
what  intensity  the  mutineers  hated  the  British.     The 

3  Sirhind  is  a  small  town  on  the  road  to  Delhi,  where  the 
Muslim  governor  of  the  time  tortured  the  two  minor  sons  of 
Guru  Govind  Singh  to  death  by  placing  them  between  two  brick 
walls. 


INDIA  FROM  1757  TO  1857  A.  D.      103 

Indians  are  a  very  kind-hearted  people;  they  would 
not  injure  even  an  ant,  much  less  a  human  being,  if 
they  could  help  it,  but  some  of  them  were  guilty  of 
the  most  cruel  excesses  during  the  mutiny.  The 
British,  too,  in  their  turn  did  not  spare  the  Indians 
in  any  way  either  during  the  mutiny  or  after  it. 
Innocent  and  guilty  alike  were  placed  before  the 
cannon  and  shot  in  lots.4  In  their  marches  through 
the  country,  British  soldiers  tortured  men,  women, 
and  children,5  and  sometimes  hung  their  heads  or 

4  See  Kaye  and  Malleson,  vol.  II,  p.  367.  "  In  respect  to 
the  mutineers  of  the  55th,  they  were  taken  fighting  against  us, 
and  so  far  deserve  little  mercy.  But,  on  full  reflection,  I  would 
not  put  them  all  to  death.  I  do  not  think  that  we  should  be 
justified  in  the  eyes  of  the  Almighty  in  doing  so.  A  hundred 
and  twenty  men  are  a  large  number  to  put  to  death.  Our  ob- 
ject is  to  make  an  example  to  terrify  others.  I  think  this 
object  would  be  effectually  gained  by  destroying  from  a  quarter 
to  a  third  of  them.  I  would  select  all  of  those  against  whom 
anything  bad  can  be  shown  —  such  as  general  bad  character, 
turbulence,  prominence  in  disaffection  or  in  the  fight,  disre- 
spectful demeanor  to  their  officers  during  the  few  days  before 
the  26th,  and  the  like.  If  these  did  not  make  up  the  required 
number,  I  would  then  add  to  them  the  oldest  soldiers.  All 
these  should  be  shot  or  blown  away  from  the  guns,  as  may  be 
most  expedient.  The  rest  I  would  divide  into  patches :  some  to 
be  imprisoned  ten  years,  some  seven,  some  five,  some  three." 

5  History  of  Indian  Mutiny,  Kaye  and  Malleson,  vol.  II,  p.  203. 
"  Martial  law  had  been  proclaimed ;  those  terrible  Acts  passed 
by  the  Legislative  Council  in  May  and  June  were  in  full  opera- 
tion; and  soldiers  and  civilians  alike  were  holding  Bloody  As- 
size, or  slaying  natives  without  any  Assize  at  all,  regardless 
of  sex  or  age.  Afterwards  the  thirst  for  blood  grew  stronger 
still.  It  is  on  the  records  of  our  British  Parliament,  in  papers 
sent  home  by  the  Governor  General  of  India  in  Council,  that 
the  aged,  women,  and  children,  are  sacrificed,  as  well  as  those 
guilty  of  rebellion.  They  were  not  deliberately  hanged,  but 
burnt  to  death  in  their  villages  —  perhaps  now  and  then  ac- 
cidently  shot.  Englishmen  did  not  hesitate  to  boast,  or  to 
record  their  boastings  in  writings,  that  they  had  '  spared  no 
one,'  and  that  '  peppering  away  at  niggers  '  was  very  pleasant 
pastime,  '  enjoyed  amazingly.'    It  has  been  stated  in  a  book 


104  YOUNG  INDIA 

carcasses  on  the  trees.6  Both  sides  vied  with  each 
other  in  their  cruelties. 

The  victors  have  immortalised  the  reprisals  (or 
say,  the  iniquities)   of  the  vanquished  by  building 

patronised  by  high  class  authorities,  that  '  for  three  months 
eight  dead-carts  daily  went  their  rounds  from  sunrise  to  sunset 
to  take  down  the  corpses  which  hung  at  the  cross-roads  and 
market-places,'  and  that  '  six  thousand  beings '  had  been  thus 
summarily  disposed  of  and  launched  into  eternity." 

6  See  Kaye  and  Malleson's  History  of  the  Mutiny,  vol.  II,  p. 
177.  "Already  our  military  officers  were  hunting  down  the 
criminals  of  all  kinds,  and  hanging  them  up  with  as  little  com- 
punction as  though  they  had  been  pariah-dogs,  or  jackals,  or 
vermin  of  a  baser  kind.  One  contemporary  writer  has  re- 
corded that,  on  the  morning  of  disarming  parade,  the  first 
thing  he  saw  from  the  Mint  was  a  '  row  of  gallowses.'  A  few 
days  afterwards  the  military  courts  or  commissions  were  sit- 
ting daily,  and  sentencing  old  and  young  to  be  hanged  with  in- 
discriminate ferocity.  On  one  occasion,  some  young  boys,  who, 
seemingly  in  mere  sport,  had  flaunted  rebel  colours  and  gone 
about  beating  tom-toms,  were  tried  and  sentenced  to  death. 
One  of  the  officers  composing  the  court,  a  man  unsparing  be- 
fore an  enemy  under  arms,  but  compassionate,  as  all  brave 
men  are,  towards  the  weak  and  the  helpless,  went  with  tears  in 
his  eyes  to  the  commanding  officer,  imploring  him  to  remit  the 
sentence  passed  against  these  juvenile  offenders,  but  with  little 
effect  on  the  side  of  mercy.  And  what  was  done  with  some 
show  of  formality  either  of  military  or  of  criminal  law,  was  as 
nothing,  I  fear,  weighed  against  what  was  done  without  any 
formality  at  all.  Volunteer  hanging  parties  went  out  into  the 
districts,  and  amateur  executioners  were  not  wanting  to  the 
occasion.  One  gentleman  boasted  of  the  numbers  he  had  fin- 
ished off  quite  '  in  an  artistic  manner,'  with  mango-trees  for 
gibbets  and  elephants  for  drops,  the  victims  of  this  wild  justice 
being  strung  up,  as  though  for  pastime,  in  '  the  form  of  a  figure 
of  eight.' " 

On  mock  trials  see  Holmes'  History  of  the  Sepoy  War,  p. 
124.  "  Officers,  as  they  went  to  sit  on  the  court  martial,  swore 
that  they  would  hang  their  prisoners,  guilty  or  innocent.  .  .  . 
Prisoners  condemned  to  death  after  a  hasty  trial  were  mocked 
at  and  tortured  by  ignorant  privates  before  their  execution, 
while  educated  officers  looked  on  and  approved."  "  Old  men 
who  had  done  us  no  harm,  and  helpless  women  with  sucking 
infants  at  their  breasts  felt  the  weight  of  our  vengeance,  no 
less  than  the  vilest  malefactors." 


INDIA  FROM  1757  TO  1857  A.  D.     105 

permanent  memorials  on  the  spots  where  they  were 
perpetrated;  their  own,  they  have  forgotten,  and  so 
have  perhaps  the  descendants  of  those  who  were  the 
objects  thereof,  though  they  are  recorded  in  history. 

Again  see  History  of  the  Siege  of  Delhi  quoted  by  Savarkar 
in  his  "  War  of  Indian  Independence,"  p.  ill,  by  an  officer  who 
served  there,  how,  on  the  way  from  Umbala  to  Delhi,  thou- 
sands were  placed  before  a  court  martial  in  rows  after  rows 
and  condemned  to  be  hanged  or  shot.  In  some  places  cow's 
flesh  was  forced  by  spears  and  bayonets  into  the  mouths  of 
the  condemned.  (All  Hindus  abhor  cow's  flesh  and  would 
rather  die  than  eat  it.) 

See  Charles  Ball's  Indian  Mutiny,  vol.  I,  p.  257.  "  One  trip 
I  enjoyed  amazingly;  we  got  on  board  a  steamer  with  a  gun, 
while  the  Sikhs  and  the  fusiliers  marched  up  to  the  city.  We 
steamed  up  throwing  shots  right  and  left  till  we  got  up  to  the 
bad  places,  when  we  went  on  the  shore  and  peppered  away  with 
our  guns,  my  old  double-barrel  bringing  down  several  niggers. 
So  thirsty  for  vengeance  I  was.  We  fired  the  places  right  and 
left  and  the  flames  shot  up  to  the  heavens  as  they  spread, 
fanned  by  the  breeze,  showing  that  the  day  of  vengeance  had 
fallen  on  the  treacherous  villains.  Every  day  we  had  expedi- 
tions to  burn  and  destroy  disaffected  villages  and  we  had 
taken  our  revenge.  I  have  been  appointed  the  chief  of  a  com- 
mission for  the  trial  of  all  natives  charged  with  offences 
against  the  Government  and  persons.  Day  by  day,  we  have 
strung  up  eight  or  ten  men.  We  have  the  power  of  life  in 
our  hands  and,  I  assure  you,  we  spare  not.  A  very  summary 
trial  is  all  that  takes  place.  The  condemned  culprit  is  placed 
under  a  tree,  with  a  rope  around  his  neck,  on  the  top  of  a 
carriage,  and  when  it  is  pulled  off  he  swings." 

"  In  the  Punjab,  near  Ajnala,  in  a  small  island,  many  a  Sepoy 
who  had  simply  fled  away  from  a  regiment  which  was  work- 
ing under  the  reasonable  fear  of  being  disarmed  and  shot  by 
the  Government  for  suspicion,  was  hiding  himself.  Cooper 
with  a  loyal  body  of  troops  took  them  prisoner.  The  entire 
number,  amounting  to  two  hundred  and  eighty-two,  were  then 
conveyed  by  Cooper  to  Ajnala.  Then  came  the  question  what 
was  to  be  done  with  them.  There  was  no  means  of  trans- 
porting them  to  a  place  where  they  could  be  tried  formally. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  they  were  summarily  executed,  other 
regiments  and  intending  rebels  might  take  warning  by  their 
fate,  and  thus,  further  bloodshed  might  be  prevented.  For 
these  reasons,  Cooper,  fully  conscious  as  he  was  of  the  enor- 
mous responsibility  which  he  was  undertaking,  resolved  to  put 


106  YOUNG  INDIA 

The  impression  which  a  visit  to  these  memorials 
leaves  on  the  mind  of  an  English  visitor  can  be 
better  realised  by  the  following  extract  from  an  ac- 
count published  in  The  Outlook  (the  English  jour- 
nal) on  the  3rd  of  April,  191 5,  over  the  signature 
of  one  F.  G.  A.  Speaking  of  the  mutiny  memories 
and  monuments  of  Lucknow  and  Cawnpore,  the 
writer  remarks : 

"  Their  mutiny  memories  are  quite  distinct,  as  are 
the  impressions  they  leave  on  the  pilgrim  to  these 
shrines  of  heroism  and  devilry.  The  battered  ruins 
of  Lucknow,  testifying  to  a  heroism  so  splendid  as 
to  rob  even  death  of  its  sting,  bring  an  inspiration 
that  is  almost  joyous.  Every  crumbling  gateway 
and  every  gloomy  cellar  has  its  tale  of  heroic  endur- 

them  all  to  death.  Next  morning,  accordingly,  he  brought 
them  out  in  tens  and  made  some  Sikhs  shoot  them.  In  this 
way,  two  hundred  and  sixteen  perished.  But,  there  still  re- 
mained sixty-six  others  who  had  been  confined  in  one  of  the 
bastions  of  the  Tahsil.  Expecting  resistance,  Cooper  ordered 
the  door  to  be  opened.  But  not  a  sound  issued  from  the  room ; 
forty-five  of  them  were  dead  bodies  lying  on  the  floor.  For, 
unknown  to  Cooper,  the  windows  had  been  closely  shut  and  the 
wretched  prisoners  had  found  in  the  bastion  a  second  Black- 
Hole.  The  remaining  twenty-one  were  shot,  like  their  com- 
rades. 1 — '8  —  '57.  For  this  splendid  assumption  of  author- 
ity, Cooper  was  assailed  by  the  hysterical  cries  of  ignorant 
humanitarians.  But  Robert  Montgomery  unanswerably  vindi- 
cated his  character  by  proving  that  he  had  saved  the  Lahore 
division."  —  Holmes's  History  of  the  Indian  Mutiny,  p.  363. 

"  It  is  related  that,  in  the  absence  of  tangible  enemies,  some 
of  our  soldiery,  who  turned  out  on  this  occasion,  butchered  a 
number  of  unoffending  camp-followers,  servants,  and  others 
who  were  huddling  together  in  vague  alarm,  near  the  Christian 
church-yard.  No  loyalty,  no  fidelity,  no  patient  good  service 
on  the  part  of  these  good  people  could  extinguish,  for  a  mo- 
ment, the  fierce  hatred  which  possessed  our  white  soldiers 
against  all  who  wore  the  dusky  livery  of  the  East."  —  Kaye 
and  Malleson's  Indian  Mutiny,  vol.  II,  p.  438. 


INDIA  FROM  1757  TO  1857  A.  D.      107 

ance  and  magnificent  defence,  and  the  final  relief 
of  the  beleaguered  garrison  wrote  such  a  finis  to  the 
story  as  erased  much  of  its  earlier  bitterness.  .  .  . 

"  None  of  this  forgiveness  is  conceivable  in  those 
who  visit  Cawnpore.  Even  the  sculptured  angel 
over  the  unspeakable  Well  bears,  on  one  profile  at 
any  rate,  an  expression  of  stern  condemnation  that 
holds  out  no  promise  of  pardon.  The  atmosphere 
of  historic  Cawnpore  is  one  of  haunting  horror  and 
a  sadness  that  will  not  pass  with  the  years.  Time 
seems  powerless  to  heal  this  rancour.  I  care  not 
whether  the  pilgrim  wanders  through  the  beautiful 
Memorial  Gardens  (in  which,  significantly,  no  native 
is  allowed  to  enter),  feasting  his  eyes  on  the  blaze 
Bougainvillcca,  or  resting  them  in  the  shade  of  the 
peepul  and  the  banyan,  or  whether  he  lingers  in  the 
strangely  Italian-looking  Memorial  Church  and 
reads  the  roll  of  honour  that  fills  a  series  of  mural 
tablets ;  everywhere  his  soul  will  be  filled  with  gloom 
and  will  cry  for  eternal  vengeance  on  the  authors  of 
the  massacre  and  on  those  who  threw  the  dying  with 
the  dead  into  the  awful  blackness  of  the  pit.  These 
memories  hold  nothing  but  hate  and  horror,  without 
one  redeeming  chapter  to  leaven  them  with  comfort 
or  forgiveness."  7 

The  English  are  mistaken  if  they  think  that  a 
reading  of  the  history  of  the  mutiny  and  the  excesses 
and  cruelties  indulged  in  by  the  British  does  not  ex- 
cite similar  feeling  in  the  minds  of  the  Indians. 

7  It  should  be  noted  that  this  visit  took  place  during  the 
present  war  and  the  observations  recorded  above  were  penned 
after  the  "unique"  outburst  of  loyalty  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians  in  connection  with  the  Great  War. 


108  YOUNG  INDIA 

The  British  can  express  their  feelings  freely.     The 
Indians  cannot;  their  feelings  must  be  repressed. 

It  would,  however,  be  better  for  both  parties  to 
try  to  wipe  off  the  past  in  a  spirit  of  mutual  trust 
and  mutual  good  will,  which  is  only  possible  if 
England  were  to  cease  to  pursue  a  policy  of  ex- 
ploiting India  and  to  establish  her  connection  with 
India  on  a  basis  of  equality,  honesty  and  justice. 
That  can  only  be  done  by  treating  her  as  a  partner 
in  the  Empire  and  not  as  a  mere  "  dependency  " 
or  "  possession." 


CHAPTER  III 

INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905 
PART  I  —  FROM  I857  TO  1885 

The  mutiny  was  quelled.  The  ringleaders  among 
the  mutineers  were  killed,  hanged  or  shot,  and  with 
them  a  lot  of  those  who  were  innocent.  Many  of 
the  rank  and  file  were  pardoned,  as  no  government 
could  shoot  or  hang  all  those  who  had  taken  part  in 
the  mutiny.  Their  number  was  legion.  The  Brit- 
ish Empire  in  India  was  saved,  but  the  East  India 
Company  was  gone.  The  system  of  open  pillage 
was  ended.  The  crown  assumed  the  direct  govern- 
ment of  India.  The  Queen's  Proclamation  and  the 
policy  of  "  mercy  and  reconciliation  "  inaugurated 
by  Canning  calmed  the  country. 

The  Bengalee  Babu.  The  only  parts  of  the  coun- 
try which  had  received  some  education  on  modern 
lines  were  the  provinces  of  Bengal,  Bombay  and 
Madras.  The  number  of  educated  men  even  in  these 
provinces  was  small.  In  the  work  of  settlement  that 
followed  the  mutiny,  these  educated  men  found 
ample  scope  for  their  ambition.  Men  who  knew 
English  had  the  advantage  over  those  who  did  not. 
Men  with  a  knowledge  of  English  were  few.  The 
posts  requiring  a  knowledge  of  that  language  were 
many.     Consequently,  the  English-knowing  Indians 

109 


no  YOUNG  INDIA 

were  in  great  demand  and  secured  ample  salaries  to 
make  them  "  happy  and  loyal."  The  English-know- 
ing Bengalees  spread  over  the  whole  of  Northern 
India,  lately  the  scene  of  mutiny,  and  materially 
helped  in  bringing  about  settled  conditions  of  life. 
They  were  the  pioneers  in  every  department  of  gov- 
ernmental activity  and  were  looked  to,  both  by  the 
rulers  and  the  people,  for  advice  and  guidance. 
The  Bengalee  is  a  sentimental  being.  His  position 
under  the  Government  filled  him  with  pride  and  his 
gratitude  and  loyalty  were  overflowing.  The  Brit- 
ish also  liked  him  because  he  was  useful,  intelligent, 
keen,  shrewd,  ready  to  serve,  and  willing  to  be  of 
use.  He  relieved  the  British  officer  of  much  of  his 
intellectual  work,  and  left  him  ample  time  for  play 
and  rest.  Many  a  departmental  head  ruled  the 
country  with  the  brain  of  the  "  Bengalee  Babu." 
The  Bengalee  Babu  worshipped  the  Feringhee  x  as 
Mai  Bap,2  and  began  to  imitate  him  in  his  tastes. 
He  began  to  live  as  the  Britisher  lived;  English  life, 
English  manners  and  customs,  became  his  ideal. 
Gradually  he  became  very  fond  of  English  literature 
and  began  to  think  as  an  Englishman  thought.  The 
Bengalees  were  the  first  to  send  their  sons  to  Eng- 
land for  their  education  and  to  compete  for  the 
I.  C.  S.  (Indian  Civil  Service)  and  the  I.  M.  S. 
(Indian  Medical  Service).  They  with  the  Parsees 
were  the  first  to  qualify  for  the  English  bar.  In 
England  they  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  freedom. 

1  A  native  term  equivalent  for  Europeans. 

2  This  is  a  native  expression  signifying  the  highest  respect 
of  the  speaker  towards  one  whom  he  considers  his  superior. 
Literally  it  means  mother  and  father. 


Ram    Mo  max  Roy 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  11 1 

With  freedom  in  drinking  and  eating  they  also 
learned  freedom  of  thought  and  expression. 

The  first  generation  of  the  Bengalees  was  thus 
Anglicised  through  and  through.  They  looked 
down  upon  their  own  religion ;  they  thought  poorly 
of  Indian  society.  They  knew  nothing  of  their  own 
past  history,  and  they  glorified  in  being  "  Sahibs."  3 
Some  of  them  became  Christians.  Alarmed  at  this 
transformation,  Ram  Mohan  Roy  and  a  few  others 
resolved  to  stem  the  tide.  For  a  time  they  suc- 
ceeded, but  only  partially.  Be  it  said  to  the  credit  of 
the  Bengalees  that  a  fairly  good  number  refused  to 
be  carried  down-stream,  and  in  spite  of  their  Eng- 
lish education  stuck  to  their  own  religion  and  their 
own  customs.  They  saw  a  good  deal  in  their  society 
which  needed  reform;  but  they  declined  to  make 
sweeping  changes  and  would  not  imitate.  These 
veterans  laid  the  foundations  of  the  modern  Ben- 
galee literature.  They  wanted  to  pour  their  knowl- 
edge, derived  from  a  study  of  English  language  and 
literature,  into  their  own  mother  tongue,  and  in 
order  to  enlarge  the  vocabulary  of  the  latter  for  their 
work,  they  had  to  study  Sanskrit.  Thus  in  spite  of 
the  Anglification  of  the  first  generation  of  Ben- 
galees, there  grew  up  a  class  of  men  imbued  with 
nationalistic  tendencies.  Ram  Mohan  Roy,  the 
founder  of  Brahmo  Samaj,  was  the  first  nation- 
builder  of  Modern  India. 

For  a  time  the  field  that  was  opened  for  the  em- 
ployment of  English-educated  Bengalees  in  Upper 
India  (in  the  then  N.  W.  Provinces,  in  the  Pun- 

3  /.  e.,  like  the  English. 


ii2  YOUNG  INDIA 

jab,  in  Behar,  in  Central  India,  in  Rajputana, 
even  in  Sindh)  checked  the  growth  of  these  tend- 
encies. The  feeling  of  gratitude  and  contentment 
was  supreme.  The  Bengalee  was  indispensable  in 
almost  every  department.  The  reins  of  practical 
management  were  mostly  in  Bengalee  hands, 
whether  it  was  a  court  of  justice,  or  a  Revenue  Com- 
missioner's office,  or  a  commissariat  depot,  or  an 
adjutant's  camp,  or  the  department  of  land  survey, 
or  education.  The  heads  of  departments  were  al- 
ways English,  but  the  heads  of  ministerial  establish- 
ments were  generally  Bengalees.  The  English  could 
not  do  without  them.  The  former  did  not  know  the 
language  of  the  country,  nor  did  they  know  the 
character  of  the  people.  The  Bengalees  were  thus 
an  absolute  necessity.  With  the  spread  of  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  English  language,  the  first  generation  of 
English-knowing  Indians  in  every  province  came 
to  occupy  an  important  position.  While  the  old- 
fashioned  Pandit  or  Moulvie  sulked,  the  English- 
knowing  Hindu  or  Mohammedan  basked  in  sunshine 
and  flourished.  The  British  laid  down  policies  and 
gave  orders ;  the  English-knowing  Indian  saw  that 
they  were  carried  out.  They  thus  came  to  enjoy 
the  confidence  of  their  masters  and  imitated  their 
vices. 

But  what  was  most  important  was  that  they  began 
to  think  like  their  English  masters.  The  English 
read  their  newspapers ;  so  the  Indians  started  their 
newspapers.  The  English  met  in  clubs  and 
churches.  So  the  Indians  started  Samajes  and 
Sabhas  and  debating  clubs.     For  a  time  the  English- 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  113 

knowing  Indian  prided  himself  in  imitating  his 
master.  He  took  his  dress,  he  took  his  cheroot  and 
pipe,  and  also  his  cup  and  beefsteak.  He  began  to 
live  in  houses  built  and  furnished  in  the  English 
way.  He  detested  Indian  life  and  took  pride  in 
being  Anglicised.  Everything  Indian  was  odious 
in  his  eyes.  The  Indians  were  barbarians ;  their  re- 
ligion was  a  bundle  of  superstitions;  they  were  dirty 
people ;  their  customs  and  manners  were  uncivilised ; 
they  were  a  set  of  narrow-minded  bigots  who  did 
not  know  that  man  was  born  free.  So  the  English 
set  the  fashion  for  them  in  everything.  If  their 
English  masters  went  to  church  and  read  the  Bible, 
they  did  the  same.  If  the  English  masters  indulged 
in  free-thinking,  they  did  the  same.  They  wanted 
to  be  like  their  English  masters  in  every  way.  Their 
ambition,  however,  soon  met  a  check.  They  could 
equal  the  British  in  drinking  and  in  free-thinking, 
but  they  could  not  aspire  to  his  position  and  place  in 
the  government  of  the  country.  Some  of  them  de- 
cided to  try  this  in  the  case  of  their  sons.  They  sent 
them  to  England.  A  few  passed  the  Indian  Civil 
Service  and  the  Indian  Medical  Service  examina- 
tions, others  became  barristers.  Both  found  out  by 
bitter  experience  that,  however  able  and  clever  they 
might  be,  whatever  their  intellectual  acquirements, 
no  matter  if  they  were  Christians,  or  semi-Chris- 
tians, or  free-thinkers,  there  was  a  limit  to  their 
aspirations  both  in  service  and  out  of  it.  That  was 
the  first  eye-opener. 

In  the  meantime,  the  thoughtful  among  the  In- 
dians, who  had  not  taken  to  English  manners,  were 


ii4  YOUNG  INDIA 

anxiously  watching  the  flow  of  the  current.  They 
saw  the  disintegrating  and  denationalising  forces 
that  were  at  work ;  they  saw  that  their  national  edi- 
fice was  crumbling  down  brick  by  brick ;  everything 
which  they  had  valued  and  held  sacred  was  being 
devastated  and  treated  with  contempt  and  reduced  to 
ashes.  Their  own  children  were  deserting  the  old 
banners  to  which  innumerable  generations  before 
them  had  clung  with  love  and  reverence.  They  saw 
all  this;  they  were  sorry;  they  wept  tears  of  blood; 
but  they  could  do  nothing.  They  were  powerless 
before  the  tide.  They  tried  palliatives,  but  failed. 
What  was  fatal  to  their  pious  wishes  was  that  they 
could  not  themselves  resist  the  fruits  which  English 
education  brought  in  the  shape  of  emoluments  and 
rank  and  position.  They  wanted  these  fruits  with- 
out the  thorns.  They  soon  found  that  that  was  im- 
possible, and  so  they  gave  up  the  struggle  in  despair 
and  became  reconciled  to  the  inevitable.  What  they 
failed  to  achieve  was,  however,  brought  about  by  a 
combination  of  circumstances  which  we  will  briefly 
enumerate  below. 

Forces  Resisting  Denationalisation,  i.  The  Eng- 
lish education  imparted  in  schools  and  colleges  estab- 
lished by  the  British,  and  the  Christian  missions  (in 
some  instances  supplemented  by  Indian  agencies), 
opened  the  gates  of  Western  thought  and  Western 
literature  to  the  mass  of  educated  Indians. 

2.  Some  of  the  British  teachers  and  professors 
who  taught  in  the  schools  and  colleges  consciously 
and  unconsciously  inspired  their  pupils  with  ideas  of 
freedom  as  well  as  nationalism. 


SWAMI    VlVEKANANDA 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  115 

3.  The  over-zeal  of  the  missionaries  in  their  at- 
tacks upon  Indian  religions  and  Indian  thought  sug- 
gested to  Indian  minds  a  closer  and  deeper  study  of 
their  own  religion  and  thought. 

4.  In  this  they  were  materially  helped  by  the 
awakening  of  Europeans  to  the  thought  of  the  East. 
The  labours  of  the  European  savants  and  their  ap- 
preciation of  Eastern  thought  kindled  a  fresh  fire  in 
the  bosom  of  Hindus  and  Mohammedans. 

5.  The  writings  of  Ram  Mohan  Roy,  Debendra 
Nath  Tagore,  Rajendra  Lai  Mitra,  in  Bengal,  those 
of  Ranade,  Vishnu  Pandit  and  others  in  Mahrash- 
tra,  of  Swami  Dayanand  and  Sir  Syed  Ahmad  Khan 
in  Upper  India,  of  Madam  Blavatsky  and  the  other 
Theosophists  in  Madras,  brought  about  a  new  awak- 
ening, which  afterwards  received  an  even  stronger 
impetus  from  the  writings  and  speeches  of  Mrs. 
Annie  Besant  and  Swami  Vivekananda.  This  was 
on  the  religious  and  social  side  mainly,  but  its  na- 
tional character  was  unmistakable. 

Political  Disappointments.  The  current  produced 
by  these  causes  met  another  current,  which  was  gen- 
erated by  political  disappointments.  The  aspira- 
tions of  the  educated  Indian  had  met  a  check.  The 
few  successes  gained  by  Indians  in  the  Indian  Civil 
Service  examinations  alarmed  the  British,  and  they 
sought  for  means  of  keeping  them  out.  One  of  the 
means  adopted  was  to  require  that  the  candidates 
should  not  be  more  than  19  to  21  years  of  age  at 
the  time  of  examination,  an  age  so  young  as  made 
it  impossible  for  Indians  to  come  over  to  England 
and  successfully  compete.     This  raised  a  howl  and 


u6  YOUNG  INDIA 

cry  in  Bengal,  and  the  rest  of  the  country  followed 
Bengal.  Then  came  other  measures  like  the  Ver- 
nacular Press  Act  of  Lord  Lytton,  and  the  remission 
of  cotton  duties,4  and  so  on.  The  generation  edu- 
cated in  England  had  some  experience  of  the  meth- 
ods of  political  agitation  in  that  country,  and  they 
soon  began  to  organise  on  those  lines.  Political 
agitation  on  modern  lines  thus  became  a  fact  of  In- 
dian life,  and  English-educated  Indians  began  to 
talk  of  liberty  and  self-government. 

Thus  were  laid  the  foundations  of  the  national 
awakening,  of  which  so  much  has  been  heard  of  late. 
The  methods  of  the  English  Government  in  India, 
their  educational  system,  their  press,  their  laws,  their 
courts,  their  railways,  their  telegraphs,  their  post- 
offices,  their  steamers,  had  as  much  to  do  with  it  as 
the  native  love  of  country,  of  religion  and  nation, 
which  had  received  a  temporary  check  by  the  crush- 
ing defeat  of  the  mutineers  in  1857,  and  by  the  In- 
dian people's  too  ready  acquiescence  in  the  political 
and  social  domination  of  the  foreigner  which  en- 
sued. 

This  time,  however,  the  movement  was  brought 
into  existence  by  those  who  had  received  their  in- 
spiration from  Europe.  Within  less  than  twenty 
years  after  the  great  mutiny,  the  Nationalist  Move- 
ment of  India  was  born,  almost  at  the  same  time  and 
place  at  which  Lord  Lytton  was  presiding  at  the 
great  Imperial  Durbar,  and  announcing  that  the 
great  Queen  of  England  was  assuming  the  title  of 
Empress  of  India.     The  Durbar  reduced  the  chiefs 

4  In  the  interests  of  Lancashire  goods. 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  117 

of  India  from  the  position  of  allies  to  that  of  feuda- 
tories, but  it  quite  unconsciously  and  against  the  in- 
tentions of  its  authors  raised  in  theory  the  status  of 
the  Indian  subjects  of  the  Queen  to  that  of  citizens 
of  the  British  Empire.  Little  did  the  authors  of 
that  Durbar  realise  the  inner  significance  of  the  move 
they  were  making.  That  Durbar,  we  may  say, 
marked  the  beginning  of  the  movement  which  filled 
the  educated  Indian  with  the  idea  of  obtaining  his 
rightful  place  in  the  Empire.  He  became  articulate 
and  began  to  assert  himself.  He  was  no  longer  sat- 
isfied with  the  minor  positions  which  he  held  in  the 
Government  of  India.  He  claimed  his  country  as 
his  own,  and  raised  the  cry  of  "  India  for  the  In- 
dians." His  cry  gained  strength  when  he  found  that 
the  India  which  he  looked  down  upon  in  the  fifties 
or  sixties,  the  system  of  thought  and  life  which  he 
considered  barbarous,  primitive  and  old  fashioned, 
and  the  past  which  he  despised,  were  after  all  not  so 
bad  as  he  had  thought. 

The  latter  was  the  contribution  of  the  Brahmo 
Samaj,  the  Theosophical  Society,  the  Society  for  the 
Resuscitation  of  Sanskrit  Literature,  the  Bengal 
Sahitya  Parishad,  the  Maharastra  Sabha,  the  Arya 
Samaj,  the  Sanatan  Sabhas  and  other  societies  of  a 
similar  nature.  The  Bengali  and  the  Mahratta  writ- 
ers, who  had  carried  on  researches  in  Indian  history 
and  unearthed  valuable  documents  and  written  in 
their  respective  vernaculars,  contributed  materially 
to  the  growth  of  this  feeling.  The  Theosophical  So- 
ciety began  to  praise  and  justify  every  Hindu  insti- 
tution and  to  find  science  in  every  custom.     In  fact, 


n8  YOUNG  INDIA 

for  a  time,  the  thoughtful  began  to  fear  lest  the 
pendulum  was  swinging  the  other  way  and  we  were 
in  the  midst  of  a  wave  of  reaction. 

Lord  Ripon.  India  was  in  this  state  of  fermenta- 
tion, religious,  social  and  political,  when  Lord  Ripon 
was  appointed  to  the  viceroyalty  of  India.  Lord 
Ripon  was  an  exceedingly  kind  man  and  commanded 
a  broad  outlook.  He  was  very  lucky  in  having  come 
on  the  heels  of  an  exceedingly  unpopular  Viceroy 
like  Lord  Lytton.  Lord  Lytton  was  a  Tory  of  pro- 
nounced imperial  tendencies.  Under  the  inspiration 
of  Disraeli,  he  had  by  an  unworthy  trick  on  the  rul- 
ing chiefs  of  India  changed  their  position  from  that 
of  allies  to  that  of  feudatories;  he  had  gagged  the 
vernacular  press  by  his  press  legislation;  he  had 
blundered  into  a  bloody  Afghan  war  and  was  re- 
sponsible for  several  other  reactionary  measures. 
Lord  Ripon  started  by  undoing  most  of  what  Lord 
Lytton  had  done.  He  repealed  the  Vernacular  Press 
Act,  which  at  once  set  the  seal  of  popular  approval 
on  his  administration.  The  most  important  of  his 
achievements  were,  however,  constructive.  He  for- 
mulated a  policy  of  local  government,  and  thus  laid 
the  foundations  of  representative  institutions  in 
India;  he  substituted  merit  for  patronage  and  job- 
bery in  filling  public  services,  by  organising  com- 
petitive examinations  for  filling  a  certain  number  of 
posts  in  the  higher  branches  of  the  subordinate  serv- 
ices; last  but  not  least,  he  resolved  to  so  alter  the 
criminal  law  as  to  place  the  European  and  the  In- 
dian on  an  equal  footing  in  the  matter  of  trials. 

All  this  aroused  the  bitterest  anger  of  the  Anglo- 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  119 

Indian  officialdom.  The  Anglo-Indians  opposed 
every  one  of  these  measures.  They  ridiculed  the 
idea  of  introducing  any  measure  of  local  self-govern- 
ment in  India,  and  predicted  that  that  must  be  the 
beginning  of  the  end.  They  called  the  measure  rash 
and  ill-advised  and  impracticable.  The  natives  were 
incapable  of  self-government,  they  said.  Their  re- 
ligious and  social  differences  made  it  impossible. 
Officialdom  was  equally  opposed  to  the  filling  of  any 
posts  in  government  service  by  open  competition. 
This  would  bring  in  the  "  Babu,"  and  the  "  Babu  " 
they  had  now  begun  to  hate  and  look  down  upon. 
The  "  Babu  "  was  a  "  low-caste  hybrid,"  who  wrote 
bad  English  and  talked  of  liberty  and  equality,  who 
lacked  in  qualities  of  docility  and  submissiveness, 
which  had  so  far  characterised  persons  appointed  by 
selection.  This  interfered  materially  with  the  pres- 
tige of  the  Lord  of  the  District,  as  people  could  now 
get  "  high  "  appointments  under  the  Government  in- 
dependently of  him.  Why  should  the  people  re- 
spect him  any  more?  His  was  a  government  by 
prestige,  and  measures  like  these  of  Lord  Ripon 
would  destroy  it.  So  prophesied  the  heaven-born 
"  white  Brahmins."  But  the  worst  offence  of  Lord 
Ripon  was  the  "  Ilbert  Bill,"  5  which  aimed  at  plac- 
ing the  European  and  the  Indian  on  an  equal  foot- 
ing in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  and  would  remove  the 
disabilities  of  the  Indian  Magistrate  in  the  matter 
of  the  trial  of  the  white  men.  "  Shall  we  be  judged 
by  the  Nigger?  "  "  shall  he  send  us  to  jail?  "  "  shall 

5  Mr.  Ilbert  was  the  Law  member  of  the  Council  of  the 
Governor  General  and  the  bill  came  to  be  named  after  him. 


120  YOUNG  INDIA 

he  be  put  in  authority  over  us  ?  Never !  It  is  im- 
possible! Better  that  British  rule  in  India  should 
end  than  that  we  be  obliged  to  submit  to  such  hu- 
miliating laws."  The  whole  tribe  of  the  Anglo- 
Indians  (official  and  non-official)  opposed  the  meas- 
ure most  vehemently,  and  attacked  Lord  Ripon  as 
never  viceroy  was  attacked  before  by  his  own  coun- 
trymen in  India.  They  called  him  insulting  names, 
passed  resolutions  condemning  his  administration 
wholesale,  proposed  his  recall  before  the  expiration 
of  his  period  of  office,  and  did  everything  possible 
to  make  him  feel  that  they  hated  him. 

His  unpopularity  among  the  Anglo-Indians  made 
him  popular  among  the  Indians.  The  press  and  the 
platform  sang  his  praise.  The  country  was  ablaze 
with  excitement.  Never  before  under  British  rule 
had  the  country  been  so  enthusiastic  in  political  mat- 
ters. In  Lord  Ripon,  they  thought,  they  had  found 
a  political  Messiah.  They  gave  him  addresses,  un- 
harnessed the  horses  from  his  carriage,  in  many 
places,  and  otherwise  showed  their  love  and  regard 
for  him,  which  exasperated  the  European  community 
beyond  measure.  The  Europeans  saw  in  all  this  a 
menace  to  their  power,  and  the  beginning  of  the  end 
of  imperial  despotism  in  India.  They  thought  they 
were  on  the  verge  of  losing  India.  In  Lord  Ripon 
the  Indians  recognised  the  first  British  viceroy  who 
was  prepared  to  make  an  honest  attempt  at  giving 
effect  to  the  pledges  given  and  the  promises  made 
by  Queen  Victoria  in  her  famous  proclamation  of 
1858,  when  the  administration  of  India  passed  into 
the  hands  of  the  regular  British  Government.     Lord 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  121 

Ripon  lost  the  battle  on  the  particular  measure  which 
had  aroused  the  anger  of  the  European  community 
more  than  anything  else,  viz.,  his  proposed  amend- 
ment of  the  Criminal  Procedure  Code.  A  compro- 
mise was  made  by  which  the  principle  of  the  bill  was 
really  abandoned.  But  he  had  raised  hopes  and 
aspiration  which  were,  so  to  say,  the  beginning  of 
political  life  in  India.  On  the  expiration  of  his  term 
of  office,  the  Indians  agitated  for  an  extension  of  his 
term,  which  was  not  granted.  However,  they  gave 
him  a  farewell  which  still  rings  in  the  ears  of  the 
older  generation  of  Indians  who  took  part  in  it,  in 
Calcutta,  in  Bombay,  in  Benares,  and  other  places. 

Lord  Ripon  left  a  permanent  impression  on  the 
minds  of  the  Indians.  Lord  Hardinge  has  won  a 
great  deal  of  popularity,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  he  is  so 
universally  loved  and  honoured  as  Lord  Ripon 
was. 

Lord  Dufferin.  However,  the  point  of  the  story 
is,  that  when  Lord  Ripon  left  India,  the  country  was 
in  a  state  of  perturbation.  There  was  a  great  deal 
of  tension  still  lingering  between  the  Indian  and  the 
European  communities.  The  fire  was  still  smoulder- 
ing when  Lord  Dufferin  took  charge  of  the  office  of 
viceroyalty.  He  had  been  brought  up  in  diplomacy. 
To  him  diplomacy  was  like  mother's  milk.  He  was 
a  diplomat  by  birth  as  well  as  by  training.  His  mis- 
sion was  to  appease  the  anger  of  the  governing  class 
and  in  a  quiet  way  to  undo  what  Lord  Ripon  had 
done.  But  he  thought  that  perhaps  it  might  be  dan- 
gerous to  go  at  it  straight.  The  cry  of  political 
liberty  and  political  equality  had  been  raised.     It 


122  YOUNG  INDIA      . 

was  impossible  to  satisfy  it;  yet  it  might  be  danger- 
ous to  strangle  it  by  force.  It  was  impossible  to  re- 
vive the  Vernacular  Press  Act  of  Lord  Lytton.  It 
was  impossible  to  stifle  political  life  which  had 
sprung  up  in  the  atmosphere  created  by  Lord  Ripon's 
policy,  and  which  was  making  a  rather  precocious 
growth.  The  more  it  was  opposed,  ridiculed  and 
despised,  the  more  it  thrived.  So  he  decided  to 
guide  it  and  to  make  it  as  innocuous  as  it  could  be 
without  rousing  the  suspicions  of  those  who  were  to 
be  the  tools. 

PART    II.      THE   BIRTH    OF   THE    INDIAN    NATIONAL 
CONGRESS 

Indian  National  Congress  an  English  Product. 
It  is  an  undisputed  historical  fact,  that  the  idea 
of  the  Indian  National  Congress  was  a  product  of 
Lord  Dufferin's  brain;  that  he  suggested  it  to  Mr. 
Hume,6  and  that  the  latter  undertook  to  work  it  out. 
We  have  no  means  of  knowing  whether  Mr.  Hume 
communicated  the  fact  to  all  the  Indian  leaders  who 
joined  hands  with  him  in  organising  it,  but  in  all 
probability  he  told  some  of  them.  It  leaked  out, 
however,  in  Lord  Dufferin's  lifetime,  was  published 
in  the  press,  brought  to  his  notice  and  never  denied 
by  him.  Nor  did  Mr.  Hume,  who  died  only  in 
1912,  ever  deny  it.  It  has  since  been  admitted  to  be 
true  by  his  biographer,  another  veteran  Congress 
leader,    Sir    William    Wedderburn.7     Sir    William 

6  Mr.  Hume  was  an  ex-secretary  of  the  Government  of  India 
who  had  retired  from  service. 

7  Sir  William  Wedderburn  is  also  a  retired  member  of  the 
Government  of  Bombay,  India. 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  123 

says  on  page  59  of  his  life  of  Mr.  Hume :  "  Indeed 
in  initiating  the  National  Movement,  Mr.  Hume  took 
counsel  with  the  viceroy,  Lord  Dufferin;  and 
zvhereas  he  was  himself  disposed  to  begin  his  reform 
propaganda  on  the  social  side,  it  was  apparently  by 
Lord  Dufferin's  adznce  that  he  took  up  the  work  of 
political  organisation  as  the  first  matter  to  be  dealt 
with."  We  have  no  hesitation  in  accepting  the  ac- 
curacy of  the  statement  made  by  Sir  William  Wed- 
derburn  as  to  what  Lord  Dufferin  told  Mr.  Hume, 
because  we  have  no  doubt  of  Mr.  Hume's  sincerity 
of  purpose.  Lord  Dufferin  did  evidently  tell  Mr. 
Hume  that  "  as  head  of  the  Government,  he  had 
found  the  greatest  difficulty  in  ascertaining  the  real 
wishes  of  the  people;  and  that  for  purposes  of  ad- 
ministration it  would  be  a  public  benefit,  if  there  ex- 
isted some  responsible  organisation  through  which 
the  Government  might  be  kept  informed  regarding 
the  best  Indian  public  opinion."  Sir  William  Wed- 
derburn  assures  us  that  "  these  kindly  counsels  («.  e., 
those  given  by  Lord  Dufferin)  were  received  with 
grateful  appreciation  by  all  concerned,"  and  "  in- 
deed so  cordial  were  the  relations  "  between  the 
officials  and  the  Congress  leaders  that  "  Lord  Duf- 
ferin was  approached  with  a  view  to  the  first  Con- 
gress being  held  under  the  presidency  of  Lord 
Reay,  then  Governor  of  Bombay."  We  are  told 
that  Lord  Dufferin  welcomed  the  proposal  as  show- 
ing the  desire  of  the  Congress  to  work  in  complete 
harmony  with  the  Government,  but  he  saw  many 
difficulties  in  accepting  the  proposal,  and  so  the  idea 
was  abandoned.     "  None  the  less  the  first  Congress 


124  YOUNG  INDIA 

was  opened  with  the  friendly  sympathy  of  the  high- 
est authorities." 

So  this  is  the  genesis  of  the  Congress,  and  this 
alone  is  sufficient  to  condemn  it  in  the  eyes  of  the  ad- 
vanced Nationalists.  There  is  no  parallel  to  this  in 
the  history  of  the  world.  Who  has  ever  heard  of  a 
movement  for  political  liberty  being  initiated  by  a 
despotic  government,  which  is  foreign  in  its  agency 
and  foreign  in  its  methods? 

Hume,  a  Lover  of  Liberty.  It  is  obvious  that 
when  Lord  Dufferin  expected  a  political  organisa- 
tion to  represent  the  best  Indian  opinion,  it  was  far 
from  his  mind  to  suggest  an  organisation  that  would 
demand  parliamentary  government  for  India,  or 
self-government  even  on  colonial  lines.  What  he 
evidently  aimed  at  was  a  sort  of  an  innocuous  asso- 
ciation which  should  serve  more  as  a  "  safety  valve  " 
than  as  a  genuine  Nationalist  organisation  for  na- 
tional purposes.  Mr.  Hume  may  have  meant  more. 
He  was  a  lover  of  liberty  and  wanted  political  liberty 
for  India  under  the  ccgis  of  the  British  crown.  He 
was  an  English  patriot  and  as  such  he  wanted  the 
continuance  of  British  connection  with  India.  He 
saw  danger  to  British  rule  in  discontent  going  under- 
ground, and  one  of  his  objects  in  establishing  the 
Congress  was  to  save  British  rule  in  India  from  an 
impending  calamity  of  the  gravest  kind  which  he 
thought  was  threatening  it  at  that  time.  In  his 
reply  to  Sir  Auckland  Colvin,8  he  admitted  that  "  a 

8  Sir  Auckland  Colvin  was  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the 
then  North  Western  Provinces  (now  the  United  Province  of 
Agra  and  Oudh). 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  125 

safety  valve  for  the  escape  of  great  and  growing 
forces  generated  by "  British  "  connection,  was 
urgently  needed,  and  no  more  efficacious  safety  valve 
than  "  the  "  Congress  movement  could  possibly  be 
devised."  This  correspondence  between  Sir  Auck- 
land Colvin,  then  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the  United 
Provinces,  and  Mr.  Hume,  reveals  the  whole  genesis 
of  the  Congress  movement,  and  is  so  clear  and 
illuminating  that  no  student  of  Indian  politics  can 
afford  to  neglect  it. 

It  leaves  no  doubt  whatsoever  that  the  immediate 
motive  which  underlay  the  idea  of  starting  the  Con- 
gress was  to  save  the  Empire  from  "  the  danger  " 
that  loomed  ahead  "  tremendous  in  the  immediate 
future,"  "  the  misery  of  the  masses  acted  on  by  the 
bitter  resentment  of  individuals  among  the  educated 
class."  In  the  words  of  Mr.  Hume,  "  no  choice  was 
left  to  those  who  gave  the  primary  impetus  to  the 
movement.  The  ferment,  the  creation  of  Western 
ideas,  education,  invention,  and  appliances,  was  at 
work  with  a  rapidly  increasing  intensity,  and  it  be- 
came of  paramount  importance  to  find  for  its  prod- 
ucts an  overt  and  constitutional  channel  for  dis- 
charge, instead  of  leaving  them  to  fester  as  they  had 
already  commenced  to  do,  under  the  surface."  Mr. 
Hume  further  adds  that  though  "  in  certain  prov- 
inces and  from  certain  points  of  view  the  movement 
was  premature,  yet  from  the  most  important  point 
of  view,  the  future  maintenance  of  the  integrity  of 
the  British  Empire,  the  real  question  when  the  Con- 
gress started,  was,  not  is  it  premature,  but  is  it  too 
iate?  will  the  country  now  accept  it?"     Indeed,  by 


126  YOUNG  INDIA 

that  test,  the  events  have  proved  that  the  Indian 
National  Congress  has  been  a  great  success,  and 
that  either  Mr.  Hume's  reading  of  the  political  situ- 
ation was  exaggerated,  or  that  his  remedy  has  been 
amply  justified. 

Congress  to  Save  British  Empire  from  Danger. 
But  one  thing  is  clear,  that  the  Congress  was  started 
more  with  the  object  of  saving  the  British  Empire 
from  danger  than  with  that  of  winning  political  lib- 
erty for  India.  The  interests  of  the  British  Empire 
were  primary  and  those  of  India  only  secondary,  and 
no  one  can  say  that  the  Congress  has  not  been  true  to 
that  ideal.  It  might  be  said  with  justice  and  reason 
that  the  founders  of  the  Indian  National  Congress 
considered  the  maintenance  of  British  rule  in  India 
of  vital  importance  to  India  herself,  and  therefore 
were  anxious  to  do  everything  in  their  power,  not 
only  to  save  that  rule  from  any  danger  that  threat- 
ened it,  but  even  to  strengthen  it ;  that  with  them  the 
redress  of  political  grievances  and  the  political  ad- 
vance of  India  was  only  a  by-product  and  of  second- 
ary importance.  If  so,  the  Congress  has  been  true 
to  its  ideal,  and  no  one  can  find  fault  with  it. 

On  the  strength  of  an  illuminating  memorandum 
found  among  his  papers,  Hume's  biographer  has 
stated  the  nature  of  the  evidence  that  "  convinced  " 
Mr.  Hume  at  the  time  (i.  e.}  about  15  months  be- 
fore Lord  Lytton  left  India)  that  the  British  were 
"  in  immediate  danger  of  a  terrible  outbreak."  We 
will  give  it  in  Mr.  Hume's  own  words. 

"  I  was  shown  seven  large  volumes  (correspond- 
ing to  a  certain  mode  of  dividing  the  country,  ex- 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  127 

eluding  Burmah,  Assam,  and  some  minor  tracts) 
containing  a  vast  number  of  entries;  English  ab- 
stracts or  translations  —  longer  or  shorter  —  of  ver- 
nacular reports  or  communications  of  one  kind  or 
another,  all  arranged  according  to  districts  (not 
identical  with  ours),  sub-districts,  sub-divisions,  and 
the  cities,  towns  and  villages  included  in  these.  The 
number  of  these  entries  was  enormous;  there  were 
said,  at  the  time,  to  be  communications  from  over 
thirty  thousand  different  reporters.  I  did  not  count 
them,  they  seemed  countless;  but  in  regard  to  the 
towns  and  villages  of  one  district  of  the  Northwest 
Provinces  with  which  I  possess  a  peculiarly  intimate 
acquaintance  —  a  troublesome  part  of  the  country, 
no  doubt  —  there  were  nearly  three  hundred  entries, 
a  good  number  of  which  I  could  partially  verify,  as 
to  the  names  of  the  people,  etc."  He  mentions  that 
he  had  the  volumes  in  his  possession  only  for  about 
a  week;  into  six  of  them  he  only  dipped;  but  he 
closely  examined  one  covering  the  greater  portion 
of  the  Northwest  Provinces,  Oudh,  Behar,  parts 
of  Bundelkund  and  parts  of  the  Punjab;  and  so  far 
as  possible  verified  the  entries  referring  to  those  dis- 
tricts with  which  he  had  special  personal  acquaint- 
ance. Many  of  the  entries  reported  conversations 
between  men  of  the  lowest  classes,9  "  all  going  to 
show  that  these  poor  men  were  pervaded  with  a  sense 
of  the  hopelessness  of  the  existing  state  of  affairs ; 
that  they  were  convinced  that  they  would  starve  and 

9  The  quotations  from  Hume  are  taken  out  of  W.  Wedder- 
burn's  Allan  Octavian  Hume,  the  parts  enclosed  in  parenthe- 
sis are  Wedderburn's. 


128  YOUNG  INDIA 

die,  and  that  they  wanted  to  do  something,  and  stand 
by  each  other,  and  that  something  meant  violence/' 
(for  innumerable  entries  referred  to  the  secretion 
of  old  swords,  spears  and  matchlocks,  which  would 
be  ready  when  required.  It  was  not  supposed  that 
the  immediate  result,  in  its  initial  stages,  would  be 
a  revolt  against  the  Government,  or  a  revolt  at  all  in 
the  proper  sense  of  the  word.  What  was  predicted 
was  a  sudden  violent  outbreak  of  sporadic  crimes, 
murders  of  obnoxious  persons,  robbery  of  bankers, 
looting  of  bazaars).  "  In  the  existing  state  of  the 
lowest  half-starving  classes,  it  was  considered  that 
the  first  few  crimes  would  be  the  signal  for  hundreds 
of  similar  ones,  and  for  a  general  development  of 
lawlessness,  paralysing  the  authorities  and  the  re- 
spectable classes.  It  was  considered  also,  that  every- 
where the  small  bands  would  begin  to  coalesce  into 
large  ones,  like  drops  of  water  on  a  leaf;  that  all  the 
bad  characters  in  the  country  would  join,  and  that 
very  soon  after  the  bands  obtained  formidable  pro- 
portions, a  certain  small  number  of  the  educated 
classes,  at  the  time  desperately,  perhaps,  unreason- 
ably, bitter  against  the  Government,  would  join  the 
movement,  assume  here  and  there  the  lead,  give  the 
outbreak  cohesion,  and  direct  it  as  a  national  revolt." 

To  this,  Sir  William  Wedderburn  adds  further 
from  his  own  personal  knowledge : 

'  The  forecast  of  trouble  throughout  India  was  in 
exact  accordance  with  what  actually  occurred,  under 
my  own  observation,  in  the  Bombay  Presidency,  in 
connection  with  the  Agrarian  rising  known  as  the 
Deccan  riots.     These  began  with  sporadic  gang  rob- 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  129 

beries  and  attacks  on  the  money  lenders,  until  the 
bands  of  dacoits,  combining  together,  became  too 
strong  for  the  police;  and  the  whole  military  force 
at  Poona,  horse,  foot,  and  artillery,  had  to  take  the 
field  against  them.  Roaming  through  the  jungle 
tracts  of  the  Western  Ghauts,  these  bands  dispersed 
in  the  presence  of  military  forces,  only  to  reunite 
immediately  at  some  convenient  point ;  and  from  the 
hill  stations  of  Mahableshwar  and  Matheran  we 
could  at  night  see  the  light  of  their  campfires  in  all 
directions.  A  leader  from  the  more  instructed  class 
was  found,  calling  himself  Sivaji,  the  Second,  who 
addressed  challenges  to  the  Government,  offered  a 
reward  of  500  rupees  for  the  head  of  H.  E.  Sir 
Richard  Temple  (then  Governor  of  Bombay),  and 
claimed  to  lead  a  national  revolt  upon  the  lines  on 
which  the  Mahratta  power  had  originally  been 
founded." 

So  in  the  words  of  these  two  leaders,  the  immedi- 
ate motive  of  the  Congress  was  to  save  the  British 
Empire  from  this  danger.  There  is,  however,  one 
difficulty  in  believing  outright  that  this  was  the  im- 
mediate reason  of  the  birth  of  the  Congress.  Mr. 
Hume  is  said  to  have  seen  this  evidence  at  the  time  he 
was  in  the  service  of  the  Government,  viz.,  fifteen 
months  before  Lord  Lytton  left  India.  Between 
then  and  the  first  meeting  of  the  Congress  in  1885 
intervened  a  period  of  about  seven  years.  During 
this  time  Lord  Ripon  was  viceroy  for  five  years. 
The  idea  of  starting  a  political  organisation  on  the 
lines  of  the  Congress  is  said  to  have  originated  with 
Lord  Dufferin. 


130  YOUNG  INDIA 

This  is  a  little  inconsistent  with  the  theory  that 
the  Congress  was  founded  out  of  fear  of  a  political 
outbreak  and  only  in  the  nature  of  a  safety  valve. 
Nor  is  the  latter  theory  consistent  with  Mr.  Hume's 
first  political  manifesto  addressed  to  the  graduates 
of  the  Calcutta  University  in  March,  1883.  This 
document  is  so  manly  in  its  outspokenness,  so  true 
in  its  principles,  that  we  will  quote  the  whole  of  it 
(or  at  least  as  much  of  it  as  is  given  in  Mr.  Hume's 
biography).  Addressing  the  graduates  of  the  uni- 
versity, Mr.  Hume  said : 

"  Constituting,  as  you  do,  a  large  body  of  the 
most  highly  educated  Indians,  you  should,  in  the 
natural  order  of  things,  constitute  also  the  most  im- 
portant source  of  all  mental,  moral,  social,  and  po- 
litical progress  in  India.  Whether  in  the  individual 
or  the  nation,  all  vital  progress  must  spring  from 
within,  and  it  is  to  you,  her  most  cultured  and  en- 
lightened minds,  her  most  favoured  sons,  that  your 
country  must  look  for  the  initiative.  In  vain  may 
aliens,  like  myself,  love  India  and  her  children,  as 
well  as  the  most  loving  of  these;  in  vain  may  they, 
for  her  and  their  good,  give  time  and  trouble,  money 
and  thought;  in  vain  may  they  struggle  and  sacri- 
fice; they  may  assist  with  advice  and  suggestions; 
they  may  place  their  experience,  abilities  and  knowl- 
edge at  the  disposal  of  the  workers,  but  they  lack 
the  essential  of  nationality,  and  the  real  work  must 
ever  be  done  by  the  people  of  the  country  them- 
selves." "  Scattered  individuals,  however  capable 
and  however  well  meaning,  are  powerless  singly. 
What  is  needed  is  union,  organisation  and  a  well 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  131 

defined  line  of  action ;  and  to  secure  these  an  associa- 
tion is  required,  armed  and  organised  with  unusual 
care,  having  for  its  object  to  promote  the  mental, 
moral,  social  and  political  regeneration  of  the  people 
of  India.  Our  little  army  must  be  sui  generis  in 
discipline  and  equipment,  and  the  question  simply  is, 
how  many  of  you  will  prove  to  possess,  in  addition 
to  your  high  scholastic  attainments,  the  unselfishness, 
moral  courage,  self-control,  and  active  spirit  of 
benevolence  which  are  essential  in  all  who  should  en- 
list?" 

Even  truer  and  nobler  are  the  sentiments  in  the 
final  appeal  which  ended  this  letter  and  which  runs 
thus: 

"  As  I  said  before,  you  are  the  salt  of  the  land. 
And  if  amongst  even  you,  the  elite,  fifty  men  can  not 
be  found  with  sufficient  power  of  self-sacrifice,  suf- 
ficient love  for  and  pride  in  their  country,  sufficient 
genuine  and  unselfish  heartfelt  patriotism  to  take  the 
initiative,  and  if  needs  be,  devote  the  rest  of  their 
lives  to  the  cause,  then  there  is  no  hope  for  India. 
Her  sons  must  and  will  remain  mere  humble  and 
helpless  instruments  in  the  hands  of  foreign  rulers, 
for  '  they  who  would  be  free,  themselves  must  strike 
the  blow.'  And  if  even  the  leaders  of  thought  are 
all  either  such  poor  creatures,  or  so  selfishly  wedded 
to  personal  concerns,  that  they  dare  not  or  will  not 
strike  a  blow  for  their  country's  sake,  then  justly 
and  rightly  are  they  kept  down  and  trampled  on,  for 
they  deserve  nothing  better.  Every  nation  secures 
precisely  as  good  a  government  as  it  merits.  If  you, 
the  picked  men,  the  most  highly  educated  of  the  na- 


132  YOUNG  INDIA 

tion,  can  not,  scorning  personal  ease  and  selfish  ends, 
make  a  resolute  struggle  to  secure  freedom  for  your- 
selves and  your  country,  a  more  impartial  admini- 
stration, a  larger  share  in  the  management  of  your 
own  affairs,  then  we,  your  friends,  are  wrong,  and 
our  adversaries  right ;  then  are  Lord  Ripon's  aspira- 
tions for  your  good,  fruitless  and  visionary ;  then,  at 
present,  at  any  rate,  all  hopes  of  progress  are  at  an 
end,  and  India  truly  neither  lacks  nor  deserves  any 
better  government  than  she  now  enjoys.  Only,  if 
this  be  so,  let  us  hear  no  more  factious,  peevish  com- 
plaints that  you  are  kept  in  leading  strings,  and 
treated  like  children,  for  you  will  have  proved  your- 
selves such.  Men  know  how  to  act.  Let  there  be 
no  more  complaints  of  Englishmen  being  preferred 
to  you  in  all  important  offices,  for  if  you  lack  that 
public  spirit,  that  highest  form  of  altruistic  devo- 
tion that  leads  men  to  subordinate  private  ease  to 
the  public  weal,  that  true  patriotism  that  has  made 
Englishmen  what  they  are,  then  rightly  are  these 
preferred  to  you,  and  rightly  and  inevitably  have 
they  become  your  rulers.  And  rulers  and  task- 
masters they  must  continue,  let  the  yoke  gall  your 
shoulders  ever  so  sorely,  until  you  realise  and  stand 
prepared  to  act  upon  the  eternal  truth,  whether  in 
the  case  of  individuals  or  nations,  self-sacrifice  and 
unselfishness  are  the  only  unfailing  guides  to  free- 
dom and  happiness." 

The  capitals  and  italics  are,  except  in  two  cases, 
ours.  In  the  original  there  are  only  two  italics, 
(i)  the  word  themselves  in  the  sentence  "they 
who   would   be    free,    themselves  must   strike   the 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  133 

blow,"  and,  (2)  "Men  know  how  to  act."  Now 
these  are  not  the  words  of  a  diplomat,  much  less 
those  of  a  hypocrite.  Mr.  Hume  was  too  noble  not 
to  mean  what  he  said,  and  the  present  writer  has 
no  doubt  but  that  Mr.  Hume  was  absolutely  sincere 
in  what  he  said.  He  had  a  passion  for  liberty. 
His  heart  bled  at  the  sight  of  so  much  misery  and 
poverty  as  prevailed  in  India,  and  which  according 
to  him  was  preventable  by  good  government.  He 
burned  with  indignation  at  the  "  cowardly "  be- 
haviour of  his  countrymen  towards  Indians,  and  he 
could  not  help  feeling  ashamed  at  the  way  in  which 
pledges  given  and  promises  made  were  being  ig- 
nored. He  was  an  ardent  student  of  history  and 
knew  full  well  that  no  government,  whether  na- 
tional or  foreign,  had  conceded  to  popular  demands 
without  pressure  from  below.  In  the  case  of  an 
alien  government,  the  chances  were  even  still  more 
meagre.  He  therefore  wanted  the  Indians  "  to 
strike"  for  their  liberty  if  they  wanted  it.  The 
first  step  was  to  organise.  So  he  advised  organisa- 
tion. 

Nor  are  we  prepared  to  believe  that  men 
like  Ranade,  Tilak,  Naoroji,  W.  C.  Bonnerjea, 
Ajudhia  Nath,  and  Tyabji,  were  only  tools  in  the 
hands  of  the  Britishers.  No,  we  do  not  think  so. 
They  were  all  true  and  good  patriots.  They  loved 
their  country  and  they  started  the  Congress  with 
the  best  of  motives.  It  is  possible  that  with  some 
British  sympathisers,  the  interests  of  the  British 
Empire  were  primary,  and  they  sided  with  the 
Congress  because  they  believed  that  thereby  they 


134  YOUNG  INDIA 

could  best  secure  the  Empire;  but  the  writer  of  this 
book  knows  from  personal  experience  how  deeply 
the  love  of  humanity  and  liberty  is  embedded  in  the 
hearts  of  some  Britishers,  and  he  is  compelled  to 
believe  that  at  least  some  of  those  who  showed  their 
sympathy  with  the  Congress  were  of  that  kind. 

The  Imperialist  Junker  and  Jingo  calls  such  men 
"  Little  Englanders,"  but  the  truth  is  that  their 
hearts  are  too  big  to  be  imperial.  They  believe  in 
humanity,  and  in  liberty  being  the  birthright  of 
every  human  being.  In  their  eyes  a  tyrant,  one 
who  robs  others  of  their  liberty,  one  who  bases  his 
greatness  on  the  exploitation  of  others,  or  deprives 
them  of  their  rights  by  might  or  clever  diplomacy, 
does  not  cease  to  be  so  by  the  fact  of  his  being  their 
countryman.  They  are  patriots  themselves  and 
will  shed  the  last  drop  of  their  blood  in  the  defence 
of  their  liberty,  and  in  the  defence  of  their  coun- 
try's liberty  and  independence,  but  their  patriotism 
does  not  extend  to  the  point  of  applauding  their 
country's  robbing  others  of  theirs.  Yes,  there  are 
Britons  who  are  sincere  friends  of  the  cause  of  lib- 
erty all  over  the  globe.  They  deplore  that  their 
country  should  be  ruling  India  at  all,  and  if  it  were 
in  their  power,  they  would  at  once  withdraw  from 
India.  Some  of  these  sympathise  with  the  Indian 
Nationalists  in  all  sincerity,  and  have  done  so  ever 
since  the  Indian  National  Congress  was  started,  or 
even  from  before  that  time.  It  is  no  fault  of  theirs, 
if  the  Indian  Nationalist  Movement  has  not  been 
such  a  success  as  they  would  have  wished  it  to  be, 
and  if  it  has  not  been  able  to  achieve  anything  very 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  135 

tangible.  The  fault  is  purely  that  of  the  Indians, 
and  of  the  Indians  alone,  or  of  the  circumstances. 

Mr.  Hume  was  quite  sincere  in  his  motives,  but 
he  forgot  that  a  political  organisation  started  at  the 
instance  or  even  with  the  approval  of  the  rulers 
whose  power  and  emoluments  it  proposed  to  cur- 
tail, whose  despotism  and  principles  it  questioned, 
in  short,  whom  it  proposed  to  displace  and  dethrone, 
was  an  anomaly;  it  was  unnatural.  In  their  desire 
to  have  an  easy  and  unopposed  start,  the  Indian 
founders  of  the  National  Congress  forgot  their  his- 
tory, and  consequently  ignored  the  truth  that 
"  those  who  wanted  to  be  free  must  themselves 
strike  the  blow,"  and  that  it  was  monstrous  to  expect 
those  against  whom  the  blow  was  aimed  to  bless 
the  striker  and  the  striking.  We  do  not  agree  with 
Mr.  Gokhale  that  "  no  Indian  could  have  started 
the  Indian  National  Congress  "  and  that  "  if  the 
founder  of  the  Congress  had  not  been  a  great  Eng- 
lishman and  a  distinguished  ex-official,  such  was  the 
official  distrust  of  political  agitation  in  those  days 
that  the  authorities  would  have  at  once  found  some 
way  or  other  to  suppress  the  movement." 

First,  political  agitation  did  not  start  with  the 
Congress.  It  had  been  started  before  and  no  at- 
tempt to  suppress  it  had  succeeded.  Second,  the 
distrust  of  political  agitation  in  India  was  not 
greater  in  those  days  than  it  is  now  and  has  been 
during  the  life  of  the  Congress.  But  if  it  be  true 
that  the  movement  could  not  have  been  started  by 
an  Indian  or  by  the  combined  efforts  of  many  In- 
dians, all  we  can  say  is  that  that  itself  would  be 


136  YOUNG  INDIA 

proof  of  its  having  been  started  before  time  and 
on  wrong  foundations. 

Had  not  Mr.  Hume  said  that  "  whether  in  the 
individual  or  the  nation,  all  vital  progress  must 
spring  from  within,"  and  that  it  was  "  to  her  own 
sons  that  the  country  must  look  for  the  initiative?" 
Did  not  Mr.  Hume  say  in  his  manifesto  of  1883 
that  "  in  vain  may  aliens  like  myself  love  India  .  .  . 
in  vain  may  they  struggle  and  sacrifice  .  .  .  they 
may  assist  with  advice  and  suggestion,  but  they  lack 
the  essential  of  nationality,  and  the  real  work  must 
ever  be  done  by  the  people  of  the  country  them- 
selves?" 

These  may  be  only  truisms,  but  they  are  funda- 
mental and  any  political  effort  made  in  defiance  of 
them  must  be  futile  and  impotent.  The  Indian 
leaders  of  the  Congress  have  never  fully  realised 
the  absolute  truth  of  these  principles  and  the  result 
is  the  comparatively  poor  record  of  the  Congress. 
In  his  original  manifesto  issued  in  1883,  Mr.  Hume 
wanted  fifty  Indians  "  with  sufficient  power  of  self- 
sacrifice,  sufficient  love  for  and  pride  in  their  coun- 
try, sufficient  genuine  and  unselfish  heartfelt  patri- 
otism to  take  the  initiative  and  if  needs  be  to  devote 
the  rest  of  their  lives  to  the  cause." 

Of  course  there  were  many  times  fifty  men  of 
that  kind  in  the  country,  even  then,  who  were  de- 
voting their  lives  to  the  service  of  their  country,  but 
not  in  the  political  line.  It  took  the  Congress  and 
the  country,  by  working  on  Congress  lines,  more 
than  twenty  years  to  produce  fifty,  many  times  fifty, 
such  men  to  devote  their  lives  to  the  political  cause. 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  137 

But  unfortunately  these  are  neither  in  the  Con- 
gress, nor  of  the  Congress.  Barring  Mr.  Dadabhai 
Naoroji  and  the  late  Mr.  Gokhale,  who  among  the 
living  Congress  leaders  can  be  said  to  have  devoted 
their  lives,  in  the  way  Mr.  Hume  wanted  them  to 
do,  to  the  Congress  cause?  Within  the  last  thirty 
years  India  has  produced  many  noble  sons  who  have 
given  their  all  in  the  service  of  the  Motherland. 
They  come  from  all  provinces,  all  religions,  all  de- 
nominations, and  all  castes.  But  very  few  of  them 
have  ever  been  active  in  the  Congress  or  for  the 
Congress.  Within  the  same  period  many  Indians 
have  given  away  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
rupees,  some  the  whole  earnings  of  a  lifetime,  in 
aid  of  education  or  for  other  public  or  charitable 
purposes;  but  the  Congress  work  has  always  lan- 
guished for  want  of  funds.  The  British  Commit- 
tee of  the  Indian  National  Congress,  located  in 
London,  have  never  had  sufficient  money  to  do  their 
work  decently.  The  expenses  of  the  British  Com- 
mittee have  largely  fallen  on  Sir  William  Wedder- 
burn.  He  and  Mr.  Hume  between  them  spent  quite 
a  fortune  on  the  movement.  No  single  Indian  is 
said  to  have  spent  even  a  fraction  of  that.  The 
question  naturally  arises, —  why  has  it  been  so  ? 
The  answer  is  obvious.  The  movement  did  not 
appeal  to  the  nation.  The  leaders  lacked  that  faith 
which  alone  makes  it  possible  to  make  great  sacri- 
fices for  it. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Congress  there  was  a 
great  deal  of  enthusiasm  for  it  among  the  English 
educated  Indians.     So  long  as  no  attempts  were 


138  YOUNG  INDIA 

made  to  reach  the  masses  and  carry  on  the  propa- 
ganda among  the  people,  the  officials  expressed 
their  sympathy  with  the  movement.  Lord  Duf- 
ferin  even  invited  the  members  as  "  distinguished 
visitors  "  to  a  garden  party  at  Government  House, 
Calcutta,  when  the  Congress  held  its  second  session 
in  that  city  in  1886.  In  1887  the  Governor  of 
Madras  paid  a  similar  compliment  to  them  at 
Madras,10  but  in  1888  when  Mr.  Hume  adopted  the 
methods  and  tactics  of  the  Corn-Law  Leaguers  of 
England,  down  came  the  hand  of  the  Government; 
and  then  the  Congress  movement  at  once  adopted 
an  apologetic  tone  and  abandoned  the  only  method 
by  which  it  could  make  itself  heard  with  effect. 
Why?  Because,  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Hume,  there 
were  no  "  men  who  could  act." 

The  Congress  Lacked  Essentials  of  a  National 
Movement.  Ever  since  then  the  Congress  has  cared 
more  for  the  opinion  of  the  Government  and  the  of- 
ficials than  for  truth  or  for  the  interests  of  the  coun- 
try. Again  the  question  arises,  why  ?  And  the  reply 
is,  because  the  leaders  had  neither  sufficient  political 
consciousness  nor  faith.  They  had  certain  political 
opinions,  but  not  beliefs  for  which  they  were  will- 
ing to  suffer.  They  were  prepared  to  urge  the 
desirability  of  certain  reforms  in  the  government 
of  the  country,  even  at  the  risk  of  a  certain  amount 
of  official  displeasure,  but  they  were  not  prepared 
to   bear   persecutions,    or    suffer    for   their    cause. 

10  These  compliments  have  been  renewed  of  late.  The  Con- 
gress held  at  Madras  in  1914  was  attended  by  the  British 
Governor  of  the  Presidency. 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  139 

Either  they  did  not  know  they  had  a  cause,  or  they 
were  wanting  in  that  earnestness  which  makes  men 
suffer  for  a  cause.  Or,  to  be  charitable,  they 
thought  that  the  country  was  not  prepared  for  an 
intense  movement  and  considered  it  better  to  have 
something  than  nothing.  They  perhaps  wanted  to 
educate  the  country  in  political  methods  and  bring 
about  a  political  consolidation  of  all  the  national 
forces,  before  undertaking  an  intensified  movement. 
But  with  the  greatest  possible  respect  for  the  found- 
ers of  the  Indian  National  Congress,  or  for  those 
who  a  few  years  ago  took  up  the  control  of  the 
movement,  we  cannot  help  remarking  that  by  their 
own  conduct  they  showed  that  their  movement 
lacked  the  essentials  of  a  national  movement. 

A  movement  does  not  become  national  by  the 
mere  desire  of  its  founders  to  make  it  so.  In  the 
opinion  of  the  writer  it  is  a  mistake  to  start  a  na- 
tional political  movement  unless  those  who  start  it 
are  prepared  to  make  great  sacrifices  for  it.  A 
halting,  half-hearted  political  movement  depending 
on  the  sympathy  and  good  will  of  the  very  class 
against  whom  it  is  directed,  consulting  their  wishes 
at  every  step,  with  its  founders  or  leaders  trembling 
for  their  safety  and  keeping  their  purse  strings 
tight,  only  doing  as  much  as  the  authorities  would 
allow  and  as  would  not  interfere  in  any  way  with  , 
their  own  personal  interests  and  comforts  and  in- 
comes, is  from  its  very  nature  detrimental  to  real 
national  interests.  A  political  movement  is  mis- 
chievous in  its  effects  if  its  leaders  do  not  put  a 
sufficient  amount  of  earnestness  into  it  to  evoke 


140  YOUNG  INDIA 

great  enthusiasm  among  their  followers,  such  as 
would  prepare  them  for  great  sacrifices  for  the 
cause  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  produce 
a  certain  amount  of  fear  of  unpleasant  conse- 
quences in  those  against  whom  it  is  directed.  For 
this  it  is  necessary  that  the  leaders  should  be  pre- 
pared to  suffer  for  the  cause.  The  sacrifice  of 
money  is  the  least  proof  of  earnestness  which  a  be- 
liever in  any  cause  can  give. 

It  is  a  fact  that  the  English  friends  of  the  move- 
ment showed  more  earnestness  than  many  of  the 
Indian  leaders.  They  spent  their  own  money  over 
it  and  they  incurred  the  displeasure  of  their  coun- 
trymen and  the  odium  of  being  called  traitors  to 
their  own  country.  Mr.  Hume  was  "  in  deadly 
earnest."  He  started  the  movement  with  the  good 
will  of  the  authorities  and  waited  for  results  for 
two  years.  When,  however,  he  found  that  "  the 
platonic  expressions  of  sympathy  by  the  authorities 
were  a  mockery,"  that  nothing  was  done  to  lessen 
the  "  misery  of  the  masses  "  and  to  relieve  their 
sufferings  and  redress  their  grievances,  he  decided 
to  put  more  intensity  into  the  movement.  He 
undertook  to  instruct  the  Indian  nation  and  rouse 
them  to  a  sense  of  their  right  and  to  a  sense  of  the 
wrong  that  was  being  done  to  them.  In  his  opin- 
ion, "  the  case  was  one  of  extreme  urgency,  for  the 
deaths  by  famine  and  pestilence  were  counted  not 
by  tens  of  thousands  or  by  hundreds  of  thousands, 
but  by  millions."  u  He  concluded  that  "  in  order 
to  constrain  the  Government  to  move,  the  leaders  of 

11  Mr.  Hume's  biography  by  Sir  William  Wedderburn,  p.  62. 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  141 

the  Indian  people  must  adopt  measures  of  excep- 
tional vigour,  following  the  drastic  methods  pur- 
sued in  England  by  Bright  and  Cobden  in  their 
great  campaign  on  behalf  of  the  people's  food." 
So,  like  Cobden,  Hume  decided  that  since  the  at- 
tempt of  the  Congress  leaders  to  instruct  the  Gov- 
ernment had  failed  and  since  the  Government  had 
refused  to  be  instructed  by  them,  the  next  step  was 
"  to  instruct  the  nations,  the  great  English  nation 
in  its  island  home,  and  also  the  far  greater  nation 
of  this  vast  Indian  continent,  so  that  every  Indian 
that  breathes  upon  the  sacred  soil  of  this  our  moth- 
erland, shall  become  our  comrade  and  coadjutor, 
our  supporter  and  if  need  be  our  soldier,  in  the 
great  war  that  we,  like  Cobden  and  his  noble  band, 
will  wage  for  justice,  for  our  liberties  and  our 
rights."12 

Hume's  Political  Movement.  Now  these  were 
noble  words,  pointing  out  the  only  political  weapon 
that  ever  succeeds  against  autocratic  governments. 
We  are  told  by  Mr.  Hume's  biographer  that  "  in 
pursuance  of  such  a  propaganda  in  India,  Mr. 
Hume  set  to  work  with  his  wonted  energy,  appeal- 
ing for  funds  to  all  classes  of  the  Indian  commu- 
nity, distributing  tracts,  leaflets  and  pamphlets, 
sending  out  lecturers  and  calling  meetings  both  in 
large  towns  and  in  country  districts.  Throughout 
the  country  over  one  thousand  meetings  were  held, 
at  many  of  which  over  five  thousand  persons  were 
present,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  the  dis- 
tribution of  half  a  million  pamphlets,  translations 

12  Mr.  Hume's  biography  by  Sir  W.  W.,  p.  63. 


142  YOUNG  INDIA 

into  twelve  Indian  languages  being  circulated  of  two 
remarkable  pamphlets,  showing  by  a  parable  the 
necessary  evils  of  absentee  state  landlordism,  how- 
ever benevolent  the  intention."  13 

That  was  true  political  work,  done  with  a  real 
political  insight.  If  it  had  been  persevered  in,  the 
history  of  the  Congress  would  have  been  different 
and  perhaps  the  revolutionary  party  would  never 
have  been  born  or  would  have  been  born  earlier. 
In  either  case  the  country  would  have  been  farther 
ahead  in  politics  than  it  is  now.  What,  however, 
actually  happened  was  that  the  Government  was  at 
once  moved  to  hostility.  Lord  Dufferin  spoke  of 
the  Congress  in  terms  of  contempt  "  as  the  infini- 
tesimal minority,"  at  a  Calcutta  dinner.  Sir  Auck- 
land Colvin  stirred  up  the  Mohammedans,  organ- 
ised an  Anti-Congress  Association  and  denounced 
the  Congress  in  no  measured  terms,  as  mischievous, 
disloyal,  and  much  before  the  time. 

Congress  Overazvcd.  Mr.  Hume  started  to  ex- 
plain in  an  apologetic  tone.  It  was  at  this  time  that 
he  came  out  with  the  "  safety  valve  "  theory.  The 
propaganda  was  at  once  abandoned,  never  to  be  re- 
sumed in  the  history  of  the  movement.  The  move- 
ment in  England  failed  for  want  of  funds.  The 
movement  in  India  collapsed  for  want  of  persever- 
ance, vigour  and  earnestness.  Here  again  we  are 
disposed  to  think  that  Mr.  Hume's  subsequent  con- 
duct was  influenced  more  by  the  fears  and  half- 
heartedness  of  the  Indian  leaders  than  by  his  own 
judgment.     If  the  Indian  leaders  had  stuck  to  their 

13  Biography,  p.  63. 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  143 

guns  and  pushed  on  their  propaganda,  the  country 
would  have  supplied  funds  and  would  have  rallied 
round  them.  Perhaps  there  might  have  been  a  few 
riots  and  a  few  prosecutions.  But  that  would  have 
drawn  the  attention  of  the  British  public  to  Indian 
conditions  more  effectively  than  their  twenty-eight 
years  of  half-hearted  propaganda  in  England  did. 
The  political  education  of  the  people  would  have 
been  more  rapid  and  the  movement  would  have 
gained  such  a  strength  as  to  make  itself  irresistible. 
It  is  possible,  nay,  probable,  that  the  Government 
would  have  suppressed  the  movement.  But  that  it- 
self would  have  been  a  victory  and  a  decided  and 
effective  step  in  the  political  education  of  the  people. 
The  revolutionary  movement  would  have  come  ear- 
lier and  the  Government  would  have  seen  the  wis- 
dom of  conciliating  the  moderates  much  earlier  than 
1909.  What  was  given  to  us  in  1909  might  have 
been  given  twenty  years  earlier.  The  Mohamme- 
dans would  have  been  happy  to  get  in  1889  what 
they  got  in  1909.  The  Indian  leaders,  however, 
thought  that  they  were  not  sufficiently  strong  and 
that  the  movement  stood  the  chance  of  being  sup- 
pressed. They  gave  in  and  abandoned  the  only  ef- 
fective weapon  they  had  forged  to  get  redress  of 
political  grievances. 

No  nation  and  no  political  party  can  ever  be 
strong  enough  to  make  their  voice  effective,  unless 
and  until  they  put  forward  a  sufficient  amount  of 
earnestness  (not  bluff)  to  convince  their  opponents 
that  in  case  their  demands  are  trifled  with,  the  con- 
sequences might  be  serious  to  both  parties.     The 


144  YOUNG  INDIA 

history  of  political  advance  in  self -governed  coun- 
tries like  England,  Germany,  France,  etc.,  amply 
proves  this.  No  political  agitation  need  be  started 
unless  those  who  are  engaged  in  it  are  prepared  to 
back  it  by  the  power  of  the  purse  and  the  power  of 
conviction. 

Congress  Agitation  in  England.  The  Congress 
overawed  in  1888  and  1889,  failed  in  both  respects. 
So  far  as  the  first  is  concerned,  why,  that  has  been 
a  theme  of  lamentation,  appeals,  and  wailings  from 
year  to  year.  Friends  in  England,  whether  in  or 
outside  the  British  Committee,  have  lamented  it  in 
pathetic  terms.  The  Congress  agitation  in  England 
has  never  been  effective.  The  Congress  has  had 
precious  little  influence  on  English  public  opinion, 
and  although  the  British  Committee  of  the  Congress 
have  had  an  office  and  an  organ  in  London  for  the 
last  25  years  or  more,  their  influence  in  English 
politics  has  been  almost  nil.  But  for  the  generosity 
of  Mr.  Hume  and  Sir  William  Wedderburn,  the 
Congress  office  in  London  might  have  been  long  ago 
closed.  The  leaders  of  the  Congress  have  talked  very 
much  of  their  implicit  faith  in  the  English  nation; 
they  have  held  out  hopes  of  our  getting  a  redress  of 
our  wrongs  if  we  could  only  inform  the  British  peo- 
ple of  the  condition  of  things  prevalent  in  India;  yet 
the  efforts  they  have  put  forward  to  achieve  that 
end  have  been  puerile  and  paltry.  There  is  a  party 
of  Indian  politicians  who  do  not  believe  in  agitation 
in  England,  but  the  leaders  of  the  Congress  and 
those  who  have  controlled  the  organisation  in  the 
last  30  years  do  not  profess  to  belong  to  that  party. 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  145 

We  shall  now  try  to  explain  why  this  has  been 
so. 

Causes  of  Failure  of  the  Congress.  ( 1 ) .  The 
movement  was  neither  inspired  by  the  people  nor 
devised  or  planned  by  them.  It  was  a  movement 
not  from  within.  No  section  of  the  Indian  people 
identified  themselves  with  it  so  completely  as  to  feel 
that  their  existence  as  honourable  men  depended  on 
its  successful  management.  The  movement  was 
started  by  an  Englishman,  at  the  suggestion  of  an 
English  pro-consul.  The  Indians,  who  professed 
to  lead  it,  were  either  actually  in  government  service 
or  in  professions  allied  to  government  service  and 
created  by  the  Government.  A  good  many  of  the 
latter  aspired  to  offices  under  the  Government  or  to 
a  recognition  of  their  merit  and  public  spirit  by  the 
Government.  They  were  patriotic  enough  to  give 
a  part  of  their  time  and  energy  to  the  movement,  so 
long  as  it  did  not  clash  with  their  own  interests,  so 
long  as  they  were  not  required  to  mar  their  careers 
for  it,  or  so  long  as  it  did  not  demand  heavy  sacri- 
fices from  them.  We  do  not  question  either  their 
motives  or  their  patriotism,  but  it  was  not  suffi- 
ciently intense  to  induce  them  to  stake  their  all  on  it. 

(2).  The  movement  lacked  the  essentials  of  a 
popular  movement.  The  leaders  were  not  in 
touch  with  the  people.  Perhaps  they  did  not 
even  want  to  come  in  touch  with  them.  Their 
propaganda  was  confined  to  a  few  English-educated 
persons,  was  carried  on  in  English  and  was  meant 
for  the  ears  of  the  authorities  rather  than  for  the 
people.     The  leaders  always  felt  shy  of  the  masses, 


146  YOUNG  INDIA 

made  no  efforts  to  reach  them,  and  systematically 
discouraged  the  younger  men  from  doing  the  same. 
Some  of  them  have  openly  opposed  efforts  in  this 
direction. 

(3).  The  leaders  failed  to  inspire  enthusiasm 
among  the  people,  either  by  their  own  failure  to 
make  sacrifices,  or  by  the  triviality  of  their  sacri- 
fices. Their  ordinary  life,  their  income,  their  pros- 
perity, and  their  luxuries  were  in  no  way  affected 
by  the  movement.  There  were  only  two  exceptions 
to  this,  viz.,  Dadabhai  Naoroji  and  Gokhale.  The 
sacrifices  of  Messrs.  Hume  and  Wedderburn  shamed 
the  people,  but  failed  to  appeal  to  their  imagination. 
In  fact,  they  roused  the  anger  of  the  people  against 
the  leaders  and  created  distrust.  The  spectacle  of 
leaders  accepting  high  offices  they  were  offered 
under  the  Government  added  to  this  distrust. 

(4).  The  movement  was  neither  confined  to  a  se- 
lect few,  nor  open  to  all.  While  the  people  were 
expected  to  add  to  the  spectacular  side  of  the  show 
by  their  presence  in  large  numbers,  by  crowded 
meetings,  by  cheers  and  applause,  they  were  never 
given  a  hand  in  the  movement.  Differences  of 
opinion  were  always  discouraged  and  free  discus- 
sion was  never  allowed.  It  was  neither  a  public 
forum,  nor  a  private  meeting  of  the  select  few.  In 
the  latter  case  it  would  have  been  less  expensive 
and  would  have  saved  money  for  work  in  England. 
In  the  former  case  it  would  have  been  more  effective. 

(5).  A  national  movement,  demanding  only  a  few 
concessions  and  not  speaking  of  the  liberties  of  the 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  147 

nation  and  of  its  ideals,  is  never  an  effective  move- 
ment. It  is  at  best  an  opportunist  movement.  It  is 
mischievous  in  so  far  as  it  diverts  attention  from 
substantial  nation  building  and  character  making. 
It  brings  fame  without  sacrifice.  It  opens  oppor- 
tunities for  treacheries  and  hypocrisies.  It  enables 
some  people  to  trade  in  the  name  of  patriotism.  No 
political  movement  can  be  entirely  free  from  these 
disadvantages,  but  the  greatest  mischief  which  a  po- 
litical movement  lightly  handled  and  led  does,  is 
that  it  delays  the  development  of  the  people  on 
normal  lines  by  raising  hopes  which  are  baseless  and 
can  never  be  realised  by  means  recommended  and 
methods  adopted. 

PART   III.      THE   BIRTH   OF   THE    NEW    NATIONALIST 

MOVEMENT 

The  National  Movement  in  India  continued  on 
its  placid  and  humdrum  course  until  Lord  Curzon's 
ridicule  of  the  movement  convinced  the  people  that 
the  political  methods  of  the  Congress  were  quite 
powerless  to  bring  them  any  relief  against  the 
despotism  that  trampled  upon  all  their  rights  and 
sensibilities.  This  led  to  a  deeper  and  a  closer  study 
of  the  political  problem  on  the  part  of  men  who  had 
convictions  as  distinguished  from  opinions,  who  had 
faith  as  against  opportunism,  who  wanted  a  soul  for 
their  people,  rather  than  a  few  more  posts  under  the 
Government.  They  discovered  that  the  movement 
had  suffered  not  only  by  the  adoption  of  wrong 
methods  and  by  want  of  sacrifice  on  the  part  of 


148  YOUNG  INDIA 

leaders,  but  by  their  failure  to  grasp  principles  and 
to  formulate  ideals.  Hence  the  cry  of  Swadeshi 
and  Swaraj.14 

Swadeshi  and  Szvaraj.  No  sooner  was  the  cry 
raised  than  the  country  was  swept  by  a  wave  of  po- 
litical activity  which  deeply  and  intimately  influ- 
enced the  proceedings  of  the  Congress  in  1905  and 
1906.  Calcutta  might  have  witnessed  in  1906 
what  Surat  did  in  1907,  but  for  the  sagacity  and 
patriotism  of  Dadabhai,  who  rose  equal  to  the  oc- 
casion and  blessed  the  cry  for  self-government.  He 
declared  in  the  words  of  Sir  Henry  Campbell-Ban- 
nerman,  the  British  Premier,  that  good  government 
could  never  be  a  substitute  for  self-government.  So 
far  good  government  had  been  the  ideal  of  the  Con- 
gress. At  the  Calcutta  session  of  1906  it  was 
changed  to  self-government, —  and  from  the  mouth 
of  a  man  who  had  devoted  his  whole  life  to  the  po- 
litical cause.  That  is  the  date  of  the  birth  of  the 
real  National  Movement  in  India. 

The  Surat  Fiasco  15  was,  among  other  causes, 
brought  about  by  the  fear  that  the  so-called  mod- 
erate leaders  wanted  to  go  back  past  what  had  been 
done  in  1906.  There  is  no  doubt  that  they  had 
gone  back  in  spirit,  though  perhaps  not  in  letter. 
The  enthusiasm,  created  by  popular  propaganda  of 
the  Congress  in  1888,  was  killed  by  the  reaction  that 
followed  in  subsequent  years.  The  same  thing 
would  have  happened  in  1907  but  for  the  fact  that 

14  Swadeshi  means  country-made,  and  Swaraj  means  self- 
government  or  self-rule. 

15  The  Congress  session  held  at  Surat  in  December,  1907, 
ended  in  a  split  preceded  by  a  disorderly  meeting. 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  149 

this  time  the  movement  was  sufficiently  intense  to 
claim  its  martyrs. 

The  high  ideals  embodied  in  Swadeshi  and 
Swaraj  were  the  ideals  worked  out  by  the  sons  of 
India :  the  miseries  of  the  motherland  had  given  an 
impetus  to  the  idea,  but  the  idea  itself  stood  on 
higher  ground.  It  was  not  the  redress  of  griev- 
ances that  filled  the  mind  of  the  people,  but  the  de- 
sire for  liberty.  It  was  not  concessions  they  wanted, 
but  liberty.  Liberty  is  not  a  thing  of  the  earth,  and 
therefore  it  can  neither  be  given  nor  accepted  as  a 
gift.  It  has  to  be  won.  People  felt  that,  and  were 
prepared  to  realise  that  in  their  lives. 

After  more  than  twenty  years  of  more  or  less 
futile  agitation  for  concessions  and  redress  of 
grievances,  they  had  received  stones  in  place  of 
bread.  Lord  Ripon  was  succeeded  by  a  Curzon. 
People  saw  that  a  sort  of  mist,  a  deep,  covering 
fog,  had  prevented  them  from  seeing  ahead.  They 
had  been  wandering  in  pursuit  of  vain  things.  The 
haven  had  been  concealed  from  their  vision  and  the 
result  was  that  their  tiny  bark  had  been  following  a 
wrong  course.  The  waters  were  stormy  and  the 
sea  was  heavy,  but  no  ship  could  reach  its  destina- 
tion unless  the  mariners  and  sailors  in  charge  knew 
what  their  goal  was,  and  unless  they  were  prepared 
to  put  forth  all  they  had  in  them  to  carry  the  bark 
through.  So  far,  the  bark  had  been  sailing  under 
misleading  stars,  without  a  compass  to  guide  the 
captain.  Now  the  compass  was  found  and  with  the 
finding  of  the  compass  the  aspect  changed.  Ideas 
inspire  men.     Ideals  prepare  them  to  breast  mar- 


150  YOUNG  INDIA 

tyrdom.  The  ideal  of  Swaraj  found  men  ready  to 
suffer  for  it,  to  meet  death  like  martyrs.  The  new 
movement  has  inspired  a  class  of  men  whose  life  is 
filled  with  that  idea  and  that  idea  alone.  They  are 
the  worshippers  of  Swaraj ;  they  love  their  mother- 
land above  everything  else.  They  do  not  want  of- 
fice, or  incomes,  or  recognition,  or  applause.  What 
they  want  is  liberty,  not  for  themselves,  because  that 
they  might  get  perhaps  by  settling  in  other  countries, 
but  for  their  beloved  country.  High  Court  Judge- 
ships, Civil  Service,  Councils,  mean  nothing  to 
them. 

The  founders  of  the  Indian  National  Congress 
began  their  movement  under  inspiration  of  govern- 
ment and  under  the  shadow  of  the  high  offices  they 
held  or  aspired  to  under  that  government,  but  the 
founders  and  inspirers  of  the  National  Movement 
started  their  propaganda  by  boycotting  government 
and  government  patronage.  The  former  wanted 
high  offices,  the  latter  despised  those  who  held  them. 
The  former  asked  for  concessions,  the  latter  re- 
jected them.  The  former  wanted  Councils,  the  lat- 
ter would  have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  The 
former  appealed  to  the  British  Government  and  the 
British  nation,  the  latter  appealed  to  their  own  peo- 
ple and  to  their  own  patriotism  and  to  their  God. 
The  former  were  led  by  the  British,  the  latter  by  pure 
Indians.  The  former  would  not  do  anything  which 
would  mar  their  careers,  the  latter  threw  away  their 
chances  like  poisoned  bread.  The  former  lived  in 
bungalows,  revelled  in  drawing  rooms,  velvet-cov- 
ered chairs,  were  attended  by  liveried  servants,  ate 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  151 

at  well-furnished  tables,  entertained  governors  and 
migistrates ;  the  latter  gave  up  even  the  little  com- 
forts they  had,  changed  trousers  for  dhotis,  coats 
for  chapkans  or  kurtas  (shirts),  overcoats  for 
blankets,  and  boots  for  ordinary  Swadeshi  shoes. 
The  former  owed  their  prosperity  in  life,  their  posi- 
tions, and  their  comforts,  to  the  British  system,  and 
were  therefore  under  obligation  to  the  British;  but 
the  latter  chose  the  path  of  poverty  and  destitution 
to  avoid  obligations.  They  threw  away  their 
chances  deliberately  and  with  the  conviction  that 
that  was  the  right  thing  to  do.  The  former  cared 
for  wines,  for  children,  and  for  home.  The  latter 
gave  up  all,  to  devote  themselves  completely  to  the 
cause  and  to  the  motherland.  The  former  had  pro- 
duced only  two  full  time  workers  for  the  cause  in 
the  course  of  22  years,  the  latter  produced  virtually 
hundreds  and  thousands  in  less  than  two  years. 
The  former  worked  under  the  best  auspices,  the  lat- 
ter started  their  work  under  overhanging  clouds, 
which  soon  burst  and  swept  away  many  of  them  into 
prisons. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  under  such  inspiration  the 
movement  spread  like  wildfire  and  assumed  wide 
proportions?  Life  met  life.  Forces  met  forces. 
Conflict  and  clash  resulted  in  fatal  accidents  to 
either  party.  The  casualties  on  the  side  of  the  Na- 
tionalists have  been  tremendously  heavy  and  out  of 
all  proportion  to  their  number,  but  judging  the  con- 
flict by  the  resources,  no  one  need  hesitate  in  saying 
that  the  moral  victory  lies  with  the  Nationalists. 
Within  less  than  five  years  of  their  propaganda, 


152  YOUNG  INDIA 

they  forced  the  hand  of  the  Government  to  make 
concessions  which  could  not  be  even  thought  of  in 
1905.  The  Congress  leaders  claim  credit  for  them- 
selves and  so  does  the  Government;  but  the  verdict 
of  impartial  and  unbiased  historians  will  be  other- 
wise. 

Lord  Morley  would  rally  the  moderates  because 
there  were  extremists  in  the  land.  In  the  absence 
of  the  so-called  extremists,  the  moderates  were  ex- 
tremists and  the  Government  and  its  agents  looked 
down  upon  them.  The  Anglo-Indian  statesman 
and  his  confidant,  the  moderate  Congress  leader,  say 
that  the  extremists  are  few,  that  most  of  them  are 
those  good-for-nothings,  who  could  do  nothing  at 
the  universities,  or  with  their  lives;  that  they  are 
maniacs  and  men  who  have  lost  all  sense  of  right 
and  wrong. 

Men  who  have  Inspired  the  Movement.  But  look 
at  the  men  who  have  inspired  the  movement,  some 
of  whom  are  leading  it  even  to-day.  Is  Arabinda 
Ghosh  a  failure?  Is  Har  Dayal  a  failure?  Were 
the  nine  deportees  from  Bengal  failures?  How 
many  high-class  graduates  have  been  hanged;  how 
many  are  in  jail !  Look  at  their  university  records 
and  look  at  their  prospects,  and  then  say  if  you  can 
call  them  "  malcontents  "  or  men  who  have  arisen 
against  the  Government  because  they  could  not  pros- 
per under  it.  Their  propaganda  has  compelled  the 
Government  to  adopt  the  severest  repressive  meas- 
ures open  to  a  foreign  government.  The  penal 
code  has  been  amended  to  make  the  definition  of 
sedition  more   comprehensive.     The  criminal  pro- 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  153 

cedure  code  has  been  amended  to  facilitate  convic- 
tions and  to  accelerate  trials.  Provisions  have  been 
added  to  enable  magistrates  to  award  summary  im- 
prisonment for  failure  to  give  security  for  good  be- 
haviour asked  for  on  political  grounds.  A  Sedi- 
tious Meetings  Act  has  been  enacted  to  make  open 
propaganda  impossible.  An  Explosives  Act  has 
been  placed  on  the  statute  book.  A  Press  Law  has 
been  passed  to  muzzle  the  press.  Spies  and  detec- 
tives have  been  employed  out  of  number.  Teachers, 
professors,  friends,  pupils,  class-fellows,  parents, 
have  all  been  requisitioned  to  crush  the  movement. 
The  number  of  publications  confiscated  under  the 
Press  Act,  the  convictions  for  sedition,  for  seditious 
murders,  for  dacoities  and  for  keeping  arms,  the 
sentences  for  failure  to  find  securities  for  good  be- 
haviour, all  continue  to  grow.  The  cry  is,  "  Still 
they  come !  "  In  prisons  the  political  prisoner  has 
been  subjected  to  horrible  treatment;  one  committed 
suicide  and  another  lost  his  senses  in  the  Andamans. 
Many  a  tale  of  misery  and  wretchedness,  of  torture 
and  of  insults  comes  from  the  prisons  in  India,  but 
still  the  movement  is  far  from  being  crushed. 

There  is  evidence  that  new  recruits  join  the  secret 
propaganda  every  year  and  take  the  place  of  those 
hanged  or  imprisoned.  A  number  has  exiled  them- 
selves and  are  carrying  on  their  propaganda  in  dis- 
tant lands  under  very  discouraging  and  depressing 
circumstances.  The  man  who  says  that  the  move- 
ment is  dead  or  dying  must  be  a  liar  or  a  fool.  The 
movement  is  alive  and  possibly  as  vigorous  as  it 
ever  was.     It  has  captured  the  imagination  of  the 


154  YOUNG  INDIA 

younger  generation.  And  at  least  75  per  cent,  of 
the  students  in  India  and  in  England  sympathise 
with  this  party.  Almost  all  are  Anti-Congress. 
Even  those  who  are  not  Nationalists  do  not  like  the 
Congress  and  feel  no  obligation  towards  it,  because 
the  Congress  failed  to  communicate  high  principles 
and  lay  down  high  ideals,  and  because  it  failed  to 
create  that  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  that  willingness  to 
suffer,  without  which  no  national  movement  can 
grow,  prosper,  and  inspire. 

The  failures  of  the  Congress  evolved  the  Na- 
tionalist Movement.  The  Congress  did  its  work 
that  way.  It  brought  conviction  home  that  no 
amount  of  prayers,  resolutions,  protests,  memorials, 
could  move  the  autocratic"  bureaucracy  in  India,  and 
no  amount  of  petitions  were  likely  to  make  any  im- 
pression upon  the  people  in  England.  The  fact  that 
the  Congress  leaders  would  not  make  sacrifices  for 
the  Congress  cause,  though  they  would  give  large 
amounts  of  money  for  educational  purposes  and 
other  charities,  forced  people  to  think  that  they 
themselves  had  no  faith  in  the  Congress  propaganda 
or  in  the  Congress  methods,  though  they  lacked  the 
courage  to  say  so  or  to  change  their  methods.  It 
was  perhaps  unreasonable  to  expect  that  of  the  kind 
of  men  that  led  the  Congress.  Most  of  them  loved 
their  country  and  were  public  spirited;  they  had 
given  proof  of  it,  good  and  sufficient,  in  other  sides 
of  national  activity,  in  the  cause  of  social  reform, 
in  the  cause  of  public  education,  in  industrial  propa- 
ganda. Outside  the  Congress  they  have  done 
enough  to  create  an  atmosphere  which  was  bound  to 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  155 

bring  about  the  development  of  the  political  move- 
ment along  the  lines  on  which  it  eventually  did 
develop  in  1905. 

The  Nationalist  child  was,  so  to  say,  brought  up 
on  the  lap  of  the  old  Congress  man  and  fed  on  the 
food  provided  by  him ;  though,  strange  enough,  this 
bringing  up  and  this  feeding  produced  results  for 
which  the  Congressman  was  not  prepared  and 
which  shocked  him  a  bit.  The  first  shock  over, 
some  of  them  were  happy  to  have  lived  to  see  the 
day,  and  blessed  the  movement.  Some  made  up 
their  minds  to  throttle  it,  but  soon  found  that  it  was 
not  in  their  power  to  do  so.  The  worst  they  could 
do  was  to  condemn  it  and  to  denounce  it.  All  they 
could  achieve  was  to  cut  the  new  movement,  shake 
off  all  responsibility  for  it,  and  thus  secure  their  own 
safety.  We  do  not  say  that  they  did  it  to  save  their 
skins.  But  fortunately  for  them  their  convictions 
led  them  the  way  their  safety  lay.  In  their  heart 
of  hearts  they  blessed  the  new  movement  and  were 
heartily  glad  that  it  came.  It  acted  and  reacted  on 
their  own  movement.  It  made  it  possible  for  them 
to  put  strength  and  force  into  their  demands  for 
concessions.  Whenever  an  extremist  leader  re- 
canted or  used  compromising  language,  they  were 
sorry.  They  wanted  the  movement  to  continue  and 
to  live,  though  they  would  not  join  it  and  though 
they  believed  that  it  was  harmful  to  the  country  in 
some  respects.  They  deplore  the  lack  of  enthusi- 
asm and  sacrifice  in  their  own  ranks,  but  they  admire 
the  selflessness  of  the  extremists  and  respect  their 
real    leaders.     An    Arabinda  "Ghosh    and    a    Tilak 


156  YOUNG  INDIA 

simply  compel  their  admiration  and  respect.  What- 
ever the  shortcomings  of  Har  Dayal  may  be,  he  is  a 
unique  personality. 

We  have  stated  wherein  the  new  movement  dif- 
fered from  the  old,  and  we  have  also  stated  what 
its  dominant  note  is.  We  would  now  like  to  ex- 
amine how  it  intended  to  proceed  and  how  its  hands 
were  forced  to  do  the  things  it  has  done  since. 

Lord  Curzon  and  Indian  Education.  We  have  al- 
ready hinted  that  Lord  Curzon's  policy  and  his  ut- 
terances helped  a  great  deal  in  the  birth  of  the  new 
movement.  When  Lord  Curzon  came  to  India,  he 
formulated  a  rather  ambitious  programme  of  re- 
forms to  be  introduced  into  the  administration  of 
the  country.  One  of  these  reforms  related  to  edu- 
cation. 

Every  one  in  the  country,  who  has  had  anything 
to  do  with  education  in  India,  was  of  opinion  that 
the  country  was  very  backward  in  education  and  that 
the  system  of  education  there  in  vogue  was  de- 
fective. It  laid  too  great  stress  on  the  literary  side 
and  did  not  fit  people  for  the  battle  of  life;  it  gave 
undue  importance  to  the  English  language  and 
Western  modes  of  thought,  at  the  cost  of  the  ver- 
naculars and  the  indigenous  civilisation  of  the  coun- 
try;  it  encouraged  "  cram  "  at  the  cost  of  real  merit; 
it  produced  a  class  of  imitators  and  left  little  scope 
or  none  for  originality;  it  invited  third  class  men 
from  England  to  fill  the  highest  positions  in  the  edu- 
cational service  of  the  country,  and  placed  the  best 
native  intellect  and  talent  under  them  to  starve  and 
rot  for  want  of  opportunities;  it  did  not  recognise 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  157 

the  duty  of  the  Government  to  look  after  the  educa- 
tion of  the  child  from  the  beginning  until  he  was  fit 
to  fight  his  own  way  in  the  world. 

The  educational  system  of  the  country  required 
radical  changes,  but  what  was  most  needed  was  that 
the  Government  should  be  prepared  to  spend  ade- 
quate sums  of  money  for  its  spread  and  in  order  to 
make  it  efficient.  Lord  Curzon's  pronouncements 
and  programme  therefore  raised  great  hopes  in  the 
minds  of  the  people.  His  University  Commission 
was  simply  flooded  with  suggestions  and  statements 
from  Indians  and  Anglo-Indians.  The  two  classes, 
however,  discussed  the  matter  from  entirely  differ- 
ent standpoints :  The  Indians  wanted  greater  fa- 
cilities for  education,  more  schools,  more  colleges, 
more  masters,  more  stipends,  an  extension  of  pri- 
mary school  education,  abler  and  better-paid  teach- 
ers, freedom  of  private  enterprise,  ample  provision 
for  technical  and  industrial  education ;  but  what  they 
wanted  most  and  cared  for  most  was  that  education 
should  be  more  nationalised  and  humanised.  The 
Anglo-Indians  wanted  a  curtailment  of  the  educa- 
tional opportunities,  a  greater  and  stricter  control  of 
private  enterprise,  a  raising  of  university  standards, 
and  a  system  of  education  which  would  curb  the 
rising  generation  and  make  them  more  easily  amen- 
able to  discipline  and  obedience. 

Lord  Curzon  did  go  into  all  these  questions,  but 
the  decision  arrived  at  convinced  the  educated  In- 
dians that  the  motive  which  underlay  Lord  Curzon's 
policy  was  the  tightening  of  government  control,  the 
strangling  of  all  independence  in  matters  educa- 


158  YOUNG  INDIA 

tional,  and  the  eventual  weakening  of  all  national 
movement  and  national  sentiment. 

Lord  Curzon' s  Secret  Educational  Conference. 
The  fact  that  he  admitted  no  Indian  to  the  meeting 
of  the  Secret  Educational  Conference  held  at  Simla, 
when  he  formulated  the  government  policy,  strength- 
ened that  idea.  His  University  Legislation  shocked 
the  country  beyond  measure  and  left  no  doubt  what- 
soever that  what  he  aimed  at  was  a  complete  official 
control  of  all  education  in  India.  Educated  Indians 
read  between  the  lines  and  concluded  that  it  was  a 
mistake  to  look  to  the  Government  to  do  things  or 
to  follow  a  policy  which  might  quicken  the  national 
pulse,  strengthen  the  Nationalist  sentiment,  or  add 
to  the  efficiency  of  the  people  so  as  to  fit  them  to 
stand  on  their  legs  and  desire  to  get  rid  of  the  lead- 
ing strings  in  which  they  were  held  by  the  British. 

Indians  and  Lord  Curzon  at  Cross  Purposes.  In- 
dians saw  that  they  and  Lord  Curzon  were  at  cross- 
purposes.  They  aimed  at  self-government  and 
freedom;  Lord  Curzon  aimed  at  prolongation  of  the 
period  of  their  bondage  and  the  permanence  of  the 
existing  political  conditions.  We  wanted  independ- 
ence; he  wanted  us  to  be  dependent  on  the  British. 
We  wanted  to  quicken  the  pace  of  national  advance; 
he  wanted  to  slacken  it.  We  wanted  to  be  assertive 
and  self-reliant;  he  wanted  us  to  be  submissive  and 
in  permanent  control  and  tutelage.  We  wanted  to 
go  forward,  he  mistrusted  us.  We  wanted  a  policy 
of  honest  confidence;  instead  of  that  he  inaugurated 
a  policy  of  suspicion.  We  wanted  unity,  he  pro- 
ceeded to  bring  into  existence  fresh  causes  of  fric- 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  159 

tion  between  community  and  community.  We 
wanted  the  marshalling  of  our  forces  in  the  com- 
mon cause,  he  proceeded  to  divide  us  and  to  keep 
us  apart.  We  wanted  consolidation,  and  he  started 
active  disintegration.  We  wanted  an  extension  of 
representative  government,  Lord  Curzon  did  his 
best  to  discredit  the  institutions  that  had  been 
granted  and  to  set  back  the  hands  of  the  clock. 

The  Congress  Deputation  to  England  in  1905. 
The  leaders  of  the  Indian  National  Congress  saw  all 
this ;  they  resisted  Lord  Curzon's  policy  rather 
boldly;  they  spoke  with  courage;  they  sought  his 
patronage  and  sent  their  president  to  wait  on  him. 
Lord  Curzon  refused  to  see  him  and  thus  slapped  the 
Congress  in  the  face.  He  characterised  their  activi- 
ties as  the  letting  off  of  "  gas."  Their  resolutions 
he  looked  upon  with  contempt  because,  as  he  said, 
nothing  had  ever  come  out  of  them.  The  leaders 
felt  offended,  they  fretted  and  foamed.  But  all 
they  resolved  to  do  was  to  appeal  to  the  British  pub- 
lic. So  a  deputation  was  sent  to  England  in  1905 
to  place  the  grievances  of  India  before  the  British 
public. 

This  deputation  was  composed  of  Messrs.  Gok- 
hale  and  the  writer  of  this  book.  They  addressed 
a  large  number  of  meetings  in  Great  Britain,  made 
many  friends,  saw  some  politicians;  but  they  were 
not  very  hopeful  as  to  the  results.  One  of  them  on 
his  return  (the  present  writer)  struck  an  unmistak- 
able note  of  despondency.  He  frankly  told  his  peo- 
ple that  the  British  democracy  was  too  busy  with 
their  own  affairs  to  do  anything  for  them,  that. the 


160  YOUNG  INDIA 

British  press  was  not  willing  to  champion  Indian 
aspirations,  that  it  was  hard  to  get  a  hearing  in 
England,  and  that  the  influence  and  the  credit  of  the 
Anglo-Indians  was  too  strong  to  be  met  successfully 
by-  the  necessarily  inadequate  agitation  which  the 
Congress  could  set  up  in  England.  On  his  return 
to  India  the  message  which  he  brought  to  his  people 
was,  that  if  they  really  cared  for  their  country,  they 
would  have  to  strike  the  blow  for  freedom  them- 
selves, and  that  they  would  have  to  furnish  unmis- 
takable proofs  of  their  earnestness. 

His  message  was  in  no  way  different  from  what 
Mr.  Hume  had  told  the  graduates  of  the  Calcutta 
University  in  1883,  or  in  his  pamphlets  "The  Star 
in  the  East  "  and  the  "  Old  Man's  Hope." 

The  Congress  of  1905.  This  was  the  first  time 
that  an  Indian  publicist  had  spoken  in  that  strain. 
The  szvadeshi  and  boycott  had  already  been  started 
in  Bengal  during  his  absence  from  India.  Even  Mr. 
Gokhale  approved  of  the  boycott  as  a  political 
weapon.  So  the  message  which  he  brought  fell  on 
willing  and  sympathetic  ears.  The  country  was  in 
a  mood  to  listen  to  it,  and  it  did  listen.  The  Con- 
gress Session  of  1905,  held  at  Benares,16  gave  an  op- 
portunity for  comparing  notes  and  for  settling  a 
programme.  The  reception  accorded  to  Mr.  Gok- 
hale and  the  rather  uproarious  meetings  of  the  Sub- 
jects Committee  afforded  ample  evidence  of  the 
temper  of  the  people.  Gokhale  was  cautious,  care- 
ful, but  enthusiastic.     His  presidential  address  was 

16  Presided  over  by  the  Honourable  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale,  a 
member  of  the  Viceroy's  Council. 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  161 

inspiring,  though  strictly  moderate.  His  Bombay 
friends,  however,  would  not  let  him  go  sufficiently 
far.  The  very  first  night  the  Subjects  Committee 
sat,  it  appeared  that  a  split  was  inevitable  and  the 
proceedings  could  not  be  as  unanimous  and  harmoni- 
ous as  was  customary.  The  old  Congress  leaders 
were  accustomed  to  unanimity,  but  the  younger 
generation  soon  convinced  them  that  unanimity  on 
the  old  lines  was  impossible. 

When  the  meeting  of  the  Subjects  Committee 
broke  up  after  its  deliberation  on  the  first  night,  no 
unanimity  had  been  reached  with  regard  to  a  resolu- 
tion welcoming  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  (the 
present  King)  to  India.  The  dissentionists  threat- 
ened to  oppose  it  in  the  Congress.  The  reception 
committee  and  the  older  leaders  were  all  furious, 
threatened  all  sorts  of  retributions,  and  predicted  all 
sorts  of  evil  consequences,  but  the  younger  men 
would  not  listen.  The  whole  of  the  morning  was 
spent  in  efforts  to  induce  them  to  withdraw  their 
opposition,  but  young  Bengal  refused  to  agree. 
The  meeting  was  delayed ;  Gokhale  then  made  a  per- 
sonal appeal  to  the  Mahratta  and  the  Punjab  lead- 
ers, and  they  prevailed  on  their  Bengalee  friends  to 
absent  themselves  from  the  meeting  and  let  the  reso- 
lution be  passed  in  their  absence.  The  resolution 
relating  to  Swadeshi,17  boycott,  and  national  educa- 
tion, again  evoked  lively  discussion  resulting  in  com- 
promise, wherein  the  principles  for  which  the  Na- 
tionalists stood  were  conceded. 

17  Swadeshi  means  the  cult  of  home  industries,  i.  e.,  the  use 
of  the  articles  made  in  the  country. 


162  YOUNG  INDIA 

In  the  Congress  camp,  the  younger  generation  had 
met  in  open  conference  to  discuss  their  future  pro- 
gramme. It  was  then  that  Mr.  Tilak  gave  out  the 
idea  of  passive  resistance.  No  formal  resolutions 
were  passed,  but  the  better  mind  of  the  people  pres- 
ent decided  to  inaugurate  an  era  of  self-help  and 
self-reliance  based  on  an  active  boycott  of  govern- 
ment service  and  of  the  semi-government  institu- 
tions. 

Object  of  the  Passive  Resistance  Movement. 
The  object  was  two- fold.  ( I ) .  To  destroy  the  hyp- 
notism that  had  caused  the  people  and  the  country  to 
have  faith  not  only  in  the  omnipotence  of  their  rul- 
ers, but  also  in  their  altruism.  In  the  words  of  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  Nationalist  thought  (Babu  B.  C. 
Pal,18  "  The  Spirit  of  Indian  Nationalism,"  page 
42),  the  people  had  been  hypnotised  to  believe  in  the 
altruism  of  their  foreign  rulers : 

"  Untrained  in  the  crooked  ways  of  civilised  di- 
plomacy, they  had  believed  what  their  rulers  had 
said,  either  of  themselves  or  of  their  subjects,  as 
gospel  truth.  They  had  been  told  that  the  people  of 
India  were  unfitted  to  manage  their  own  affairs,  and 
they  believed  it  to  be  true.  They  had  been  told  that 
the  people  were  weak  and  the  Government  was 
strong.  They  had  been  told  that  India  stood  on  a 
lower  plane  of  humanity  and  England's  mission  was 
to  civilise  '  the  semi-barbarous  native.'  The  Na- 
tionalist school  took  it  upon  themselves  to  expose  the 
hollowness  of  all  these  pretensions.  They  com- 
menced to  make  what  are  called  counter-passes  in 
18  An  eminent  Bengalee  writer. 


Bal  Ganga  Dhar  Tilak 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  163 

hypnotism,  and  at  once  awoke  the  people  to  a  sense 
of  their  own  strength,  an  appreciation  of  their  own 
culture." 

In  the  second  place,  the  object  was  to  create  a 
passionate  love  of  liberty,  accompanied  by  a  spirit 
of  sacrifice  and  readiness  to  suffer  for  the  cause  of 
the  country.  This  was  to  be  done  more  by  example 
than  precept.  What  the  programme  was  may  bet- 
ter be  stated  in  the  words  of  the  leader  whom  we 
have  quoted  above : 

"  Boycott  both  economic  and  political,  boycott  of 
foreign  and  especially  British  goods,  and  of  all 
honorary  associations  with  the  administration,  na- 
tional education  implying  a  withdrawal  of  the 
youths  of  the  nation  from  the  officialised  universi- 
ties and  government-controlled  schools  and  colleges, 
and  training  them  up  in  institutions  conducted  on 
national  lines  subject  to  national  control  and  calcu- 
lated to  help  the  realisation  of  the  national  destiny, 
national  civic  volunteering,  aiming  at  imparting  a 
healthy  civic  training  to  the  people  by  the  voluntary 
assumption  of  as  much  of  the  civic  duties,  at  present 
discharged  by  official  or  semi-official  agencies,  as 
could  be  done  without  any  violation  of  the  existing 
laws  of  the  country, —  duties,  for  instance,  in  regard 
to  rural  sanitation,  economic  and  medical  relief, 
popular  education,  preventive  police  duties,  regula- 
tion of  fair  and  pilgrim  gathering, —  settlement 
of  civil  and  non-cognisable,  criminal  disputes  by 
means  of  arbitration  committees :  —  these  were 
the  proclaimed  methods  of  the  Nationalist 
school." 


1 64  YOUNG  INDIA 

As  to  the  objects  of  this  scheme,  we  will  again 
quote  the  same  writer : 

"  The  evident  object  was  to  create  in  the  first  place 
a  strong  civic  sentiment  in  the  people  with  the  help 
of  co-operative  organisations  for  the  furtherance  of 
the  common  good,  and  thus  to  train  them  gradually 
for  the  larger  and  heavier  responsibilities  of  free 
citizenship,  and  in  the  next  place,  to  cover  the  whole 
country  with  a  net-work  of  active,  political  organisa- 
tions which  would  place  the  leaders  in  direct  and  liv- 
ing touch  with  the  people,  and  enable  them  to  bring, 
from  time  to  time,  the  irresistible  pressure  of  or- 
ganised public  opinion  to  bear  upon  the  Government, 
helping  thereby  the  gradual  expansion  of  popular 
rights." 

Now  it  should  be  noted  here  in  passing,  that  with 
the  exception  of  boycott  and  volunteering,  every 
other  item  in  the  above  propaganda  had  been  more 
or  less  tried  and  with  varying  success  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,  but  more  particularly  in  the  Punjab  and 
Maharashtra  before  this.  The  Deccan  education 
Society  and  the  Poona  Fergusson  College  were  the 
offshoots  of  the  desire  to  further  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion by  self-imposed  sacrifices,  with  the  underlying 
motives  of  quickening  the  patriotic  impulse  and  the 
Nationalist  spirit.  Similarly  Swadeshi,  co-operative 
organisations,  and  private  arbitration  courts  had 
been  thought  of  and  tried.  The  motives  underlying 
these  attempts  were  absolutely  patriotic,  combining 
an  element  of  philanthropy  in  them.  The  private 
colleges  in  Bengal,  started  by  Vidyasagar  and  others, 
were  also  due  to  the  same  impulse,  and  so  was  the 


INDIA  FROM  1857  TO  1905  165 

Pachaipiya  College  at  Madras.  Bombay  had  its 
own  schemes  and  was  ahead  of  the  rest  of  India  in 
purely  Indian  industrial  and  trade  organisations. 
Similarly  in  the  Punjab  the  idea  of  swadeshi  had 
been  started  as  early  as  1877.  The  motives  were 
economic  and  patriotic.  The  idea  of  national  edu- 
cation had  found  expression  in  the  D.  A.  V. 
(Dayanand  Anglo-Vedic)  College,  and  that  of  na- 
tional co-operative  organisations  in  the  "  Punjab 
National  Bank,"  the  "  Bharat  Insurance  Company  " 
and  other  joint  stock  concerns.  Religious  and 
philanthropic  motives  had  brought  into  existence  the 
Hindu  orphan  movement,  the  famine  relief  move- 
ment, and  so  on.  A  little  volunteering  had  also  been 
attempted  in  connection  with  the  famine  relief  move- 
ment and  the  Kangra  earthquake  relief  movement. 
Long  before  1905,  the  Punjab  had  a  network  of 
privately  organised,  privately  financed,  unaided 
schools  and  other  charitable  institutions,  over  which 
the  Government  had  little  effective  control.  Patriot- 
ism and  philanthropy  were  the  underlying  motives 
of  these  institutions,  but  not  politics.1® 

The  ruling  bureaucracy  did  not  quite  like  these 
activities,  but  they  could  not  suppress  them.  Indi- 
vidual officers  sometimes  sympathised  and  even 
helped  these  movements.  So  far  Bengal  had  been 
rather  backward  in  the  matter  of  national  develop- 
ment on  these  lines.  So,  when  Lord  Curzon  pro- 
claimed   the    partition    of    Bengal,    attacked    the 

19  Moreover  the  keynote  of  these  organisations  was  associa- 
tion and  co-operation  with  Government,  and  not  independent 
self-assertion. 


1 66  YOUNG  INDIA 

veracity  of  the  orientals  in  his  Calcutta  University 
convocation  speech,  and  on  other  occasions  called 
them  cowards,  windbags,  unpractical  talkers,  and 
mere  frothy  patriots,  the  Bengalees  awoke  to  a  con- 
sciousness of  their  weaknesses,  and  resolved  to  re- 
venge themselves  upon  Lord  Curzon,  and  prove  to 
the  world  at  large  that  Lord  Curzon  was  a  liar. 
What  followed  may  be  briefly  stated  in  a  separate 
chapter. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   FIRST   YEARS   OF   THE   NATIONALIST 
MOVEMENT 

Partition  of  Bengal.  It  was  on  the  16th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1905,  that  the  old  Province  of  Bengal  was 
partitioned  by  Lord  Curzon.  On  that  day  "  immense 
numbers  of  people  in  the  two  divisions  of  the  par- 
titioned province  abstained  from  lighting  their 
kitchen  fire,  went  about  barefooted,  performed 
ceremonial  baths  in  rivers  or  sacred  tanks,1  and  tied 
on  one  another's  wrist  the  sacred  rakhi,  a  piece  of 
silk  or  cotton  thread,  as  a  symbol  of  fraternal  or  na- 
tional unity."  On  the  7th  of  August,  1905,  the 
leaders  of  Bengal,  in  public  meeting  assembled,  in 
the  Calcutta  Town  Hall,  under  the  presidency  of 
Maharaja  Mannidra  Chandra  Nundy  of  Cossim- 
bazar,2  had  already  declared  "  a  general  boycott  of 
British  goods  as  a  practical  protest  against  the  pro- 
posed partition." 

Boycott  of  British  Goods.  The  original  idea  was 
to  resort  to  boycott  as  a  temporary  measure,  and 
therefore  in  the  pledges  drawn  up  in  the  early  days, 
a  time  limit  was  put  in.  The  boycott  was  to  last 
until  "  the  partition  was  withdrawn."     In  the  words 

1  These  are  signs  of  mourning  in  India. 

2  An  eminent  nobleman  and  landlord  of  Bengal. 

167 


1 68  YOUNG  INDIA 

of  a  Bengalee  politician,  the  idea  was  to  cause  pe- 
cuniary loss  to  the  British  manufacturer  and  thus 
enlist  his  sympathy  and  help  for  the  purpose  of  get- 
ting the  measure  cancelled.  But  it  was  soon  dis- 
covered that  the  boycott  might  be  an  effective 
economic  weapon,  to  be  used  as  a  measure  of  protec- 
tion against  the  economic  exploitation  of  the  coun- 
try by  the  foreigner. 

To  quote  the  same  writer,  "  The  pledges  sent 
from  Calcutta  came  back,  duly  signed  by  large 
numbers  of  people,  but  with  the  conditional  sen- 
tence, '  until  Partition  is  withdrawn,'  scored 
through.  The  boycott  was  a  great  success  for  some 
time.  '  The  Lucky  Day '  of  October,  1905,  on 
which  generally  a  very  large  number  of  forward 
contracts  in  Manchester  goods  are  made  at  Calcutta, 
passed  without  any  business  being  done.  Simul- 
taneously with  this  decline  in  foreign  goods,  many 
indigenous  industries  began  to  revive.  There  was  a 
boom  in  handlooms  all  over  India.  Provinces  out- 
side of  Bengal  did  not  adopt  a  policy  of  active  boy- 
cott, but  the  cry  of  Swadeshi  3  was  taken  up  by  all 
the  country,  whereby  a  great  impetus  was  given  to 
indigenous  manufacturers.  The  significance  of  the 
movement  in  Bengal,  where  it  was  rigorously  pur- 
sued, lay  in  the  fact  that  prince  and  peasant,  capitalist 
and  labourer,  literate  and  illiterate,  educated  and  un- 
educated, all  joined  hands."  For  some  time  the 
boycott  was  so  effective  that  The  Englishman,  an 
Anglo-Indian  newspaper  published  in  Calcutta,  de- 
clared :     "  It  is  absolutely  true  that  Calcutta  ware- 

3  India  made  goods. 


THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT      169 

houses  are  full  of  fabrics  that  can  not  be  sold.  In 
the  earlier  days  of  the  boycott  it  was  the  fashion  to 
assert  that  depression  in  piece  goods  trade  was  due 
to  this  or  the  other  economic  cause. 

"  Many  prominent  Marwari  4  Firms  have  been 
absolutely  ruined  and  a  number  of  the  biggest  Eu- 
ropean import  houses  have  had  either  to  close  down 
their  piece  goods  branch  or  to  put  up  with  a  very 
small  business,  where  they  previously  had  a  large 
one.  As  for  stocks  in  warehouses,  they  tend  to 
grow  larger,  as  Marwari  and  Indian  buyers  who  had 
given  forward  orders,  now  state  that  they  can  not 
afford  to  take  delivery.  These  facts  are  now  so 
well  known  that  it  is  idle  to  attempt  to  hide  them. 
Indeed  the  time  has  come  when  all  injuries  inflicted 
on  trade  by  boycott  should  be  made  fully  known. 
There  is  no  question  of  encouraging  the  boy  cotters, 
as  they  need  no  encouragement.  But  there  is  the 
question  of  thoroughly  awakening  the  public  at  home 
and  the  Government  of  India  to  the  fact  that  in  boy- 
cott the  enemies  of  the  Raj  have  found  a  most  ef- 
fective weapon  for  injuring  British  interests  in  the 
country." 

The  triumph  of  the  boycotters  was  testified  to  by 
the  following  remarks  of  The  Englishman,  with 
which  the  article  ended :  "  The  question  however 
is,  what  is  the  Government  going  to  do  about  it? 
Boycott  must  not  be  acquiesced  in,  or  it  will  more 
surely  ruin  British  connection  zvith  India  than  an 
armed  revolution."     [The  italics  are  ours.] 

4  Wholesale  piece  goods  merchants  belonging  to  Upper  India 
are  known  in  Calcutta  by  that  name. 


170  YOUNG  INDIA 

Government's  Reply.  In  reply  to  this  move  on 
the  part  of  the  Bengalee  leaders, —  a  move  in  which 
all  Bengal  was  united,  including  the  present  mod- 
erates,—  the  Government  started  a  crusade  against 
the  students  whom  the  boycotters  had  enlisted  in 
their  service.  The  bureaucracy  thought  that  the 
more  active  part  of  the  propaganda  was  carried  on 
by  them.  According  to  Mr.  B.  C.  Pal,  "  the  success 
of  the  boycott,  especially  in  the  earlier  stages  before 
the  sentiment  had  time  to  settle  down  into  the  con- 
science and  consciousness  of  the  people,  depended 
almost  entirely  upon  picketing."  Mr.  Pal  assures 
us  that  "  their  method  was  uniformly  intellectual 
and  moral,"  and  that  "  there  was  no  intimidation, 
no  violence,  no  appeal  to  physical  fear,  none  of  the 
things  that  characterise  picketing  among  the  ro- 
buster  people  of  the  West." 

The  British,  of  course,  do  not  accept  this  state- 
ment as  true.  But  whatever  its  nature,  the  Govern- 
ment did  not  like  picketing.  They  thought  they 
could  not  stand  by  and  let  a  movement  of  that  kind 
gain  strength.  "  Their  first  move  was  to  make  it 
penal  for  the  young  student  population  to  participate 
in  any  way  in  the  nationalist  activities.  Students 
who  attended  public  meetings  were  threatened  with 
various  punishments  to  the  extent  even  of  expulsion 
from  school,  college,  or  university." 

The  Second  Move  of  the  Bengalees:  The  Na- 
tional University.  The  Bengalee  leaders  then  put 
their  heads  together  and  resolved  to  start  a  National 
University,  wherein  education  would  be  given  inde- 
pendent of  government  control.     The  educational 


THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT     171 

policy  of  Lord  Curzon  had  already  set  people  to 
thinking  along  that  line.  The  measures  now 
adopted  to  strike  at  the  boycott  movement  by  punish- 
ing the  students  who  participated  therein  "  accentu- 
ated the  need  and  called  forth  actual  measures  to 
meet  it."  This  movement  also,  like  the  boycott,  met 
the  universal  support  of  United  Bengal.  The 
actual  leadership  of  it  fell  on  Sir  Gurdas  Bannerjea, 
late  Judge  of  the  Calcutta  High  Court,  who  had  been 
vice-chancellor  of  the  Calcutta  University  for  some 
time  and  whose  loyalty  and  moderation  had  never 
been  questioned  by  friend  or  foe.  Besides,  he  had 
sat  on  the  University  Commission  appointed  by 
Lord  Curzon  and  had  written  a  note  of  dissent  from 
the  policy  recommended  by  the  majority  of  its  mem- 
bers. "  Under  his  guidance,  the  Bengal  Council  of 
National  Education  proposed  to  work,  independent 
of,  but  by  no  means  in  opposition  to,  the  Govern- 
ment Education  Department.  And  this  independent 
activity  was  justified  on  the  ground  that  the  educa- 
tion hitherto  imparted  under  official  supervision 
lacked  a  vital  reference  to  the  thoughts,  the  senti- 
ments, the  traditions,  the  religions,  and  even  the 
outer  physical  and  biological  environments  of  the 
people.  The  object  of  the  new  movement  was  to 
organise  a  thoroughly  national  system  of  education, 
both  scientific  and  literary,  as  well  as  technical,  on 
national  lines  and  under  national  control." 

Besides  making  an  ample  provision  for  literary, 
scientific,  and  technical  education,  the  National 
Council  of  Education  at  once  reduced  English  to  the 
status  of  a  secondary  language,  the  first  place  being 


172  YOUNG  INDIA 

given  to  Bengalee  and  Sanskrit,  and  in  the  case  of 
Mohammedans  to  Urdu,  Persian,  and  Arabic. 

The  National  Education  Movement  in  Bengal  was 
in  no  way  an  anti-government  movement.  Though 
it  owed  its  "  initiation  to  the  threats  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  close  the  doors  of  the  official  schools  and 
colleges  and  universities  against  those  who  would 
take  any  part  in,  even  to  the  extent  of  simply  at- 
tending, any  political  meeting  or  demonstration,  the 
National  Education  Movement  in  Bengal  sought  to 
avoid  all  open  causes  of  friction  with  the  authorities 
and  proposed  to  work  independent  of,  but  not  in  op- 
position to,  the  Government.  Political  in  its  origin, 
it  tried  to  avoid  all  conflicts  with  the  authorities  by 
assuming  an  absolutely  non-political  attitude." 

Arabinda  Ghosh.  To  this  movement,  Indian  Na- 
tionalism owes  the  emerging  into  prominence  of  a 
quiet,  unostentatious,  young  Hindu,  who  was  till 
then  comparatively  obscure,  holding  his  soul  in  pa- 
tience and  waiting  for  opportunities  to  send  currents 
of  the  greatest  strength  into  the  nation's  system. 
He  was  gathering  energy.  His  name  was  Arabinda 
Ghosh.  Arabinda  had  received  first  class  education 
in  England.  The  headmaster  of  the  school,  where 
he  studied  before  joining  the  university,  is  reported 
to  have  said  that  during  the  25  to  30  years  he  had 
been  in  charge  of  the  school,  Arabinda  Ghosh  was 
by  far  the  most  richly  endowed  in  intellectual  capac- 
ity of  any  of  the  students  that  had  come  under  his 
charge. 

At  Cambridge  he  distinguished  himself  in  Eu- 
ropean classics  and  took  first  class  honours.     He 


Arabinda  Ghosh 


THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT      173 

passed  the  Indian  Civil  Service  examinations  with 
credit,  but  failed  in  the  test  for  horsemanship. 
Never  did  a  failure  prove  more  a  blessing  than  in 
his  case. 

He  was  in  the  service  of  His  Highness,  the  Maha- 
raja of  Baroda,5  drawing  a  salary  of  about  500 
pounds  sterling,  when  his  country's  call  came  to  him. 
He  listened  to  it  readily,  gave  up  his  post  and  agreed 
to  be  the  principal  of  the  National  College  on  ten 
pounds  a  month.  We  are  told  by  one  who  worked 
with  him  for  some  time  that  he  did  not  support  the 
"  declaration  of  the  National  Council  of  Education  " 
about  their  non-political  attitude.  He  could  not  ap- 
preciate this  needless  dread,  as  they  thought,  of 
offending  official  susceptibilities.  He,  however,  ac- 
cepted the  verdict  of  the  majority  and  began  his 
work.  But  his  position  as  "  the  nominal  head  of 
the  National  College,  controlled  by  men  "  who  "  dif- 
fered from  him  in  their  political  views  and  opinions, 
became  almost  from  the  very  beginning  anomalous." 
This  was  rather  unfortunate.  Arabinda  Ghosh  had 
received  the  best  modern  education  that  any  man  of 
his  country  and  generation  could  expect  to  have. 
He  had  for  some  years  been  a  teacher  of  youth  in 
Baroda  and  had  acquired  considerable  experience  in 
his  art.  He  had  clearly  realised  the  spirit  and  actu- 
alities of  the  life  of  his  nation,  and  knew  how  the 
most  advanced  principles  of  pedagogy  could  be  suc- 
cessfully worked  into  a  thoroughly  national  system 
of  education  in  India.  He  knew  that  the  founda- 
tions of  national  independence  and  national  great- 
6  A  ruling  chief  in  the  Bombay  Presidency. 


174  YOUNG  INDIA 

ness  must  be  laid  in  a  strong  and  advanced  system 
of  national  education.  He  had  a  political  ideal,  no 
doubt ;  but  politics  meant  to  him  much  more  than  is 
ordinarily  understood  by  the  term.  It  was  not  a 
game  of  expediency,  but  a  "  school  of  human  char- 
acter "  which  acted  and  reacted  on  the  life  of  the 
nation.  "  Education  could  no  more  be  divorced 
from  politics,"  in  his  opinion,  "  than  it  could  be  di- 
vorced from  religion  and  morals.  Any  system  of 
education  that  helps  such  isolation  and  division  be- 
tween the  various  organic  relations  of  life  is  medi- 
aeval and  not  modern."  6 

The  monied  leaders  of  the  National  Council  of 
Education  movement,  however,  could  not  accept 
Arabinda's  principles.  "  They  were  not  free  from 
the  fear  of  possible  official  opposition,  which,  if  once 
aroused,  would  make  their  work,  they  thought,  abso- 
lutely impossible.  They  had  a  real  dread  of  the 
bureaucracy  "  whom  they  were  not  prepared  to  defy. 
Experience  has  shown  that  they  were  quite  mistaken 
if  they  thought  they  could  develop  their  scheme  of 
education  without  rousing  the  fears  and  the  bitterest 
opposition  of  the  bureaucracy,  even  after  declaring 
the  non-political  character  of  their  scheme. 

Never  before  in  the  history  of  the  human  race 
was  it  so  well  realised  as  now  that  the  school  is  the 
nursery  of  the  man  and  the  citizen.  Lord  Curzon 
realised  it  in  full  and  it  was  his  aim  to  curtail  or,  if 
possible,    crush    the    nationalist    influences    in    the 

6  In  my  opinion  there  has  never  been  any  time  in  human 
history  when  religion  and  morals  were  successfully  divorced 
from  politics,  either  in  Ancient  India  or  anywhere  else. 


THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT     175 

schools  and  colleges  managed  and  conducted  by  In- 
dian agencies.  It  was  his  desire  to  introduce  the 
English  element  in  all  these  institutions  and  to  put 
them  under  English  control.  He  had  invited  Eu- 
ropean missionaries  to  the  Secret  Educational  Con- 
ference at  Simla,  but  not  a  single  Indian,  Hindu  or 
Mohammedan.  He  could  not  trust  them  (i.  e.,  the 
Indians)  with  his  ideas.  Hence  the  need  of  secrecy. 
The  National  Council  of  Education  was  supposed  to 
be  working  against  the  spirit  of  his  policy.  He  was 
gone,  but  the  bureaucracy  who  were  identified  with 
his  wishes,  views  and  schemes,  were  there.  It  was 
impossible  that  they  would  let  the  Bengalees,  who- 
ever they  might  be,  build  up  a  system  of  education 
and  a  network  of  educational  institutions,  that  not 
only  would  owe  nothing  to  the  Government  but  were 
also  to  be  quite  free  of  official  or  English  control 
and  of  English  influence. 

Then,  the  very  circumstances  under  which  the  Na- 
tional College  was  born  and  the  National  Schools 
affiliated  to  it  were  opened,  gave  them  a  political 
character.  The  Government  and  the  bureaucracy 
were  opposed  to  the  students  taking  any  part  in  the 
boycott  movement;  the  Bengalee  leaders  wanted 
them  to  do  so,  and  hence  the  National  College  and 
the  National  Schools.  It  was  an  open  challenge  — 
a  revolt.  Arabinda  Ghosh  was  identified  with  this 
revolt,  and  with  him  were  associated  a  whole  group 
of  powerful  writers  and  speakers,  all  men  of  high 
individuality  and  lofty  ideals  and  of  pure  character. 
They  accepted  the  decision  of  the  majority  about  the 
non-political  character  of  the  college,  but  no  one 


176  YOUNG  INDIA 

could  deprive  them  of  the  use  of  their  pen  and 
tongue.  Any  attempt  to  do  that  might  have  been 
fatal  to  the  scheme.  They  started  journals  and 
preached  the  gospel  of  political  and  economic  and 
educational  independence  in  the  clearest  language. 
They  were  all  men  of  education  and  knew  their 
history  well.  They  fully  realised  what  the  conse- 
quences were  likely  to  be,  and  they  were  prepared 
for  it.  They  were  prepared  to  suffer  for  their 
propaganda,  but  they  were  not  yet  prepared  for  vio- 
lence. 

The  Nationalist  Press.  They  started  a  number  of 
papers  in  Bengalee  and  also  in  English,  in  which 
they  gave  their  ideas  to  the  people.  The  Sandhya 
and  the  Bande  Malayan,  as  two  of  the  new  papers 
were  called,  became  their  classrooms.  In  a  few 
months  the  face  and  the  spirit  of  Bengal  was 
changed.  The  press,  the  pulpit,  the  platform,  the 
writers  of  prose  and  poetry,  composers  of  music  and 
playwrights,  all  were  filled  with  the  spirit  of  nation- 
alism. Bande  Mataram  (Hail  Motherland)  was 
the  cry  of  the  day.  It  was  chanted  in  schools,  in 
colleges,  in  streets,  in  houses,  in  public  squares,  al- 
most everywhere.  Even  the  government  offices  and 
the  compounds  of  the  private  residences  of  Eu- 
ropean officials  resounded  with  it. 

Sabhas  and  Samitis  and  Akharas  7  leaped  into  ex- 
istence by  hundreds,  where  the  Bengalee  young  men 
began  to  take  lessons  in  fencing  and  other  games. 
This  was  their  reply  to  those  who  taunted  them  as 
cowards;  for  the  famous,  or  rather  infamous,  re- 

7  Societies,  Associations  and  Gymnasiums. 


THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT     177 

marks  of  Macaulay  about  Bengalees  were  often 
hurled  at  their  heads  by  the  Anglo-Indians,  or  new 
language  was  used  to  express  the  same  thoughts. 

The  boycott  had  created  an  unheard  of  situation 
in  some  of  the  districts  in  Eastern  Bengal.  In  one 
district  —  Barisal  —  the  Superintendent  of  Police 
and  the  Collector  had  both  failed  to  be  able  to  buy 
a  piece  of  Manchester  shirting  for  one  of  their 
friends,  as  no  trader  would  sell  it  except  by  per- 
mission of  the  gentleman  who  was  the  leader  of  the 
boycotters.  This  leader  happened  to  be  a  man  who 
had  made  his  influence  by  his  character  and  by 
service.  He  was,  so  to  say,  the  uncrowned  king  of 
his  district.  That  was  a  crusher  to  the  bureaucracy. 
No  foreign  bureaucracy  could  tolerate  it.  Sir 
William  Bamfylde  Fuller,  on  whom  had  fallen  the 
first  Lieutenant  Governorship  of  Eastern  Bengal, 
was  bewildered  by  the  strength  of  the  movement  and 
the  new  character  which  the  Bengalees  were  de- 
veloping. The  people  refused  to  show  him  the 
customary  honours.  Even  the  presence  of  the  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  in  the  town  did  not  prevent  the 
people  from  giving  ovations  to  anti-partition  propa- 
gandists and  making  anti-partition  demonstrations. 
At  one  place  it  is  said  that  even  the  railway  porters 
refused  to  touch  his  baggage,  which  had  to  be  car- 
ried by  police  constables.  This  was  more  than  he 
could  bear. 

Military  Measures  against  Boycotters.  After 
consultation  with  Lord  Curzon,  he  resolved  to  use 
force.  The  first  step  taken  was  the  despatch  of  a 
hundred  Gurkha  troops  to  Barisal,  followed  by  a 


178  YOUNG  INDIA 

demand  for  the  withdrawal  of  a  circular  issued  by 
the  local  leaders  advising  the  people  of  the  legality 
of  a  peaceful  boycott  of  British  goods.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  a  refusal  meant  a  physical  conflict,  which 
the  leaders  were  yet  anxious  to  avoid.  So  the  lead- 
ers decided  to  withdraw  and  the  governor  was 
mollified.  The  Gurkhas  are  said  to  have  commit- 
ted numerous  outrages  on  the  people,  but  the  lead- 
ers kept  the  latter  under  control,  as  they  did  not 
want  the  Government  to  get  a  handle  to  crush  the 
movement  by  force. 

In  April,  1906,  the  Provincial  Conference,  which 
was  attended  by  the  most  prominent  leaders  of  the 
two  Bengals,  was  broken  up  by  order  of  the  Magis- 
trate "  almost  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet."  A 
procession  of  some  800  or  900  delegates  from  the 
different  districts  of  the  two  provinces,  "  including 
almost  every  prominent  leader  in  the  country,  was 
dispersed  by  the  police,  who  made  a  free  use  of 
their  quarterstaffs  and  broke  more  than  one  head 
under  the  very  eyes  of  the  District  Superintendent 
of  Police."  The  people,  however,  did  not  retaliate. 
So  far,  they  were  determined  not  to  use  force  even 
against  force.  With  every  display  of  force  on  the 
side  of  the  Government,  the  nationalist  movement 
gained  ground  in  popularity  and  in  strength,  until 
the  masses,  the  women  and  children,  all  were  satu- 
rated with  it. 

This  was  the  birth  of  a  new  life  in  Bengal,  which 
found  its  reflection  in  every  phase  of  public  activ- 
ity, religious,  social,  economic,  educational,  or  po- 
litical.    What  was  done  in  Bengal  found  its  echo 


THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT     179 

in  the  rest  of  the  country.  So  far  the  Nationalist 
party  was  united.  The  elder  people,  who  had  been 
born  and  bred  and  had  lived  in  a  different  atmos- 
phere, were  not  in  full  accord  with  the  younger 
party  and  remonstrated  with  the  latter,  when  they 
indulged  in  intemperate  language.  Some  people  in 
other  provinces  did  not  quite  approve  of  the  whole- 
sale boycott,  inaugurated  and  declared  by  the  Ben- 
galees, but  otherwise  the  nation  was  united,  and  the 
best  mind  of  the  nation  was  rather  gratified  at  the 
turn  things  had  taken. 

Lord  Minto.  With  the  advent  of  Lord  Minto 
(in  1905),  however,  things  began  to  assume  a  dif- 
ferent shape.  The  first  serious  difference  in  the 
Nationalist  party  occurred  over  the  presidentship 
of  the  Indian  National  Congress  at  Calcutta  in 
1906,  but  an  actual  split  was  avoided  by  a  clever 
and  diplomatic  move  of  the  leaders  of  the  new 
moderate  party,  who  obtained  the  consent  of  Mr. 
Dadabhai  Naoroji  8  to  accept  the  presidentship,  if 
offered  to  him.  The  Congress  session  of  1906  was 
rather  an  uproarious  session,  but  eventually  the 
spirit  of  compromise  and  conciliation  prevailed  and 
the  so-called  extremists  practically  gained  all  their 
points  so  far  as  the  principle  of  them  was  concerned. 

But  it  was  clear,  even  to  a  superficial  observer, 
that  a  split  was  inevitable;  Lord  Minto  had  suc- 
ceeded Lord  Curzon  as  Viceroy,  and  a  visible 
change  was  coming  in  the  policy  of  the  Government. 
Lord  Curzon  was  for  a  policy  of  repression ;  Minto 

8  A  leader  universally  respected  and  loved  by  all  classes  of 
people  throughout  India.    See  frontispiece. 


180  YOUNG  INDIA 

inaugurated  a  reign  of  conciliation  with  repression. 
The  movement  might  have  succumbed  if  the  Gov- 
ernment had  been  courageous  enough  to  annul  or 
modify  the  Partition  of  Bengal,  as  they  subse- 
quently did  in  19 12.  But  that  was  not  to  be.  On 
that  point  the  Government  would  not  yield,  though 
otherwise  they  were  in  favour  of  making  conces- 
sions. 

Indian  Press  Gagged.  The  years  1905,  1906,  and 
1907  were  years  of  passive  resistance.  The  nation- 
alists indulged  in  strong  language,  carried  on  a 
vigorous  anti-British  propaganda  by  means  of  the 
press  and  the  platform,  used  their  pen  and  tongue 
rather  freely,  but  did  not  think  of  using  force. 
Editor  after  editor,  and  publisher  after  publisher 
was  sent  to  prison  without  any  diminution  of  the 
campaign.  The  years  1906  and  1907  saw  a  regu- 
lar "  tug  of  war  "  between  the  Government  on  the 
one  side  and  the  nationalists  on  the  other.  A  large 
number  of  prosecutions  were  launched  against  the 
members  of  the  press  in  Bengal  and  Bombay,  Pun- 
jab and  the  United  Provinces,  Madras  and  the  Cen- 
tral Provinces,  and  many  persons  were  sentenced 
to  long  terms  of  imprisonment.  A  complete  boy- 
cott, economic,  political  and  social,  was  openly 
preached,  and  picketing  was  again  resorted  to. 
Some  of  the  judicial  trials  were  only  farcical,  the 
judges  being  influenced  by  political  considerations, 
and  convictions  and  sentences  being  foregone  con- 
clusions. Yet  such  was  the  people's  regard  for 
law,  that  so  long  as  the  procedure  of  an  open  trial 
was  not  attacked,  they  did  not  think  of  employing 


From    a   painting  by   Mrs.   Richer,   Berkeley,    Cal. 

La j pat  Rai 


THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT     181 

force  for  purposes  of  revenge.  Even  ill-treatment, 
either  in  lock-ups,  during  trial,  or  in  prisons,  after 
conviction,  failed  to  incite  the  people  to  force.  Po- 
litical prisoners  were  applauded,  glorified,  and 
otherwise  supported  and  backed,  but  no  thought  of 
revenge  entered  anybody's  head. 

Deportation  of  Lajpat  Rai.  The  sudden  depor- 
tation of  Lajpat  Rai,  however,  in  May,  1907, 
changed  the  whole  current  of  thought  and  action. 
The  nationalists  concluded  that  the  movement  for 
passive  resistance  required  to  be  supported  by  secret 
propaganda  as  well  as  the  use  of  force  against  force. 
In  the  words  of  the  Honourable  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale, 
in  a  speech  delivered  in  the  Council  of  the  Governor 
General  after  the  deportation  of  Lajpat  Rai,  the 
latter  was  a  religious,  social,  and  educational  re- 
former and  was  loved  and  respected  by  large  classes 
of  his  countrymen  all  over  the  country.  He  was 
one  of  the  persons  whom  the  extreme  Nationalists 
claimed  as  their  own,  whom  the  moderate  Nation- 
alists also  respected,  and  whom  the  populace  "  liked 
for  his  philanthropic  and  educational  activities." 
The  sudden  capture  of  this  man,  without  trial,  with- 
out charge,  and  without  notice,  drove  the  young 
Nationalists  to  frenzy.9  Even  the  sober  and  the 
thoughtful  among  the  Nationalists  were  in  despair. 

The  Anglo-Indian  press  all  over  the  country, 
however,  was  in  jubilation.  The  leading  semi- 
official daily  published  at  Lahore,  the  headquarters 

9  See  Mr.  H.  W.  Nevinson's  New  Spirit  in  India,  p.  295 ; 
also  pp.  133,  233,  etc.;  see  also  Mr.  J.  Ramsay  Macdonald's 
Awakening  of  India. 


182  YOUNG  INDIA 

of  Lajpat  Rai,  described  him  as  the  leader  of  a 
deep-laid  revolutionary  movement,  every  detail  of 
which  passed  through  his  fingers.  He  was  said  to 
have  a  following  of  "  100,000  desperadoes."  The 
Englishman,  at  Calcutta,  charged  him  with  having 
tampered  with  the  loyalty  of  the  Indian  army,  and 
having  incited  the  King  of  Afghanistan  to  invade 
India.  As  a  result  of  adding,  as  they  did,  insult  to 
the  injury  of  deportation,  the  country  was  ablaze 
with  indignation.  The  step  was  condemned  by  the 
unanimous  voice  of  the  people.  All  differences  of 
opinion  were  forgotten  and  the  whole  country 
joined  in  protest.  The  extreme  wing  of  the  nation- 
alists, however,  decided  to  take  the  next  step.  They 
decided  to  use  force  and  began  to  think  of  bomb 
and  revolver  and  of  a  guerilla  warfare  against  the 
established  despotism.  The  older  people,  though 
they  sympathised,  would  not  agree  to  take  any  part 
in  the  movement  using  physical  force,  nor  would 
they  give  their  sanction  to  such  a  course. 

It  is  possible  that  some  sort  of  secret  organisation 
existed  in  Bengal  in  1906,  but  force  did  not  enter 
into  their  programme  till  after  May,  1907,  i.  e.,  until 
after  the  deportation  of  Lajpat  Rai.  The  deporta- 
tion decided  them.  Yet  the  first  shot  was  not  fired 
until  December,  1907,  and  the  first  bomb  was  not 
thrown  until  April  or  May,  1908.  The  split 10  at 
Surat  in  December,  1907,  irrevocably  divided  the 
Nationalists  into  two  parties,  and  confirmed  the 
younger  party  in  their  programme  of  force.     The 

10  For  an  account  of  this  split  see  H.  W.  Nevinson's  New 
Spirit  in  India,  Chap.  XIII. 


THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT     183 

extremists  saw  the  hand  of  the  Government  in  the 
split.  Within  a  few  months  almost  all  the  leaders 
were  seized  and  thrown  into  prison.  At  Surat, 
Lajpat  Rai,  having  thrown  in  his  lot  with  the  mod- 
erates, was  for  a  time  left  alone,  but  Bal  Ganga 
Dhar  Tilak,  the  Mahratta  leader,  was  prosecuted 
and  sentenced  to  six  years'  transportation.  Ara- 
binda  Ghosh  was  also  seized  and  prosecuted  for 
conspiracy  to  wage  war  against  the  King,  though  he 
was  afterwards  acquitted  for  want  of  evidence. 
Bepin  Chandra  Pal  was  also  seized  and  sentenced 
to  six  months'  imprisonment;  Chidambaran  Pillai, 
a  Madras  leader,  to  six  years ;  a  Mohammedan  leader 
of  the  United  Provinces,  Abul  Hasan  Hasrat  Mo- 
hani,  to  one  year.  In  December,  1908,  nine  of  the 
Bengal  leaders  were  seized  in  their  homes  and  im- 
prisoned by  an  administrative  order  without  trial 
and  without  charge. 

Disaffection  Driven  Underground.  These  perse- 
cutions and  sentences  exasperated  the  younger  party 
and  drove  disaffection  underground.  Undaunted 
by  the  loss  of  leaders,  they  continued  their  propa- 
ganda and  made  several  attempts  on  the  lives  of 
high  officials.  The  life  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
of  Bengal  was  attempted  no  less  than  three  times, 
once  in  open  daylight,  when  he  was  presiding  at  a 
certain  state  function.  The  life  of  the  viceroy, 
Lord  Minto,  was  also  attempted,  at  Ahmedabad. 
The  political  secretary  of  Lord  Morley,  then  Secre- 
tary of  State,  was  shot  in  London;  a  collector  was 
murdered  at  Nasik,  and  many  other  "  outrages  " 
were  committed.     Publications  suppressed  and  con- 


184  YOUNG  INDIA 

demned  were  published  and  circulated  secretly ;  arms 
were  smuggled  and  stolen ;  and  attempts  were  made 
to  wreck  railways  and  otherwise  terrorise  the 
Government.  Throughout  the  year  1908  and  1909 
the  movement  was  kept  up  at  high  pressure.  Then 
in  19 10  there  was  a  comparative  lull,  though  the 
revolutionary  activities  did  come  up  to  the  surface 
occasionally. 

The  year  191 1  was  perhaps  the  dullest  year  from 
the  revolutionary  point  of  view.  That  was  the  year 
of  the  King's  visit  to  India.  The  King  modified 
the  Partition  of  Bengal  and  ordered  the  transfer  of 
the  capital  to  Delhi.  For  a  time  there  was  a  great 
rejoicing  in  the  country,  not  so  much  because  the 
Partition  had  been  annulled,  but  because  it  was  a 
virtual  triumph  of  the  Nationalist  agitation. 

Lord  Hardinge  Bombed.  In  December,  1912, 
again,  the  revolutionary  party  gave  conclusive  evi- 
dence of  their  existence  and  strength.  A  bomb  was 
thrown  at  Lord  Hardinge,  the  Viceroy,  when  he 
was  passing  in  procession  midst  thousands  of  troops 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  spectators,  making 
his  first  state  entry  into  the  new  capital  of  British 
India,  the  Delhi  of  the  Moguls.  Lord  Hardinge 
was  wounded,  members  of  his  entourage  killed  and 
the  procession  broken  up.  The  culprit  escaped,  and 
in  spite  of  offers  of  huge  rewards  1X  and  unprece- 
dented police  activity  has  remained  undetected 
up  to  the  present  time.     This  is  considered  to  be 

11  A  reward  of  one  hundred  thousand  Rupees  equal  to  33,000 
dollars  was  offered  for  information  leading  to  the  arrest  of  the 
culprit  or  culprits. 


THE  NATIONALIST  MOVEMENT     185 

the  supreme  achievement  of  the  revolutionaries. 
Throughout  191 3  and  19 14  the  revolutionaries  were 
active,  and  the  scanty  news  that  has  filtered  out 
from  India  during  the  war  gives  ample  reason  to 
think  that  they  are  very  active  now. 

Within  the  last  seven  or  eight  years,  the  Govern- 
ment has  tried  every  form  of  repression,  and  has 
also  planned  a  programme  of  partial  reconciliation, 
but  they  have  so  far  failed  to  crush  the  extreme 
wing  of  the  Nationalist  party,  the  wing  that  believes 
in  force  and  that  has  taken  to  all  the  methods  of 
guerilla  warfare  against  a  foreign  government 
based  on  force. 

The  country  is  in  such  circumstances  now  that 
every  step  which  the  Government  takes  to  repress 
and  crush  the  movement  or  to  punish  the  offenders, 
strengthens  the  spirit  of  revolt,  adds  to  the  volume 
and  intensity  of  the  desire  for  revenge,  adds  to  the 
number  of  those  who  are  prepared  to  suffer  or  even 
die  for  the  cause.  From  the  classes,  the  movement 
has  spread  to  the  masses;  from  the  non-fighting 
masses  it  is  now  gaining  ground  and  winning  adher- 
ents among  the  fighting  classes.  In  1907  the  charge 
of  tampering  with  the  army,  laid  at  the  door  of 
Lajpat  Rai,  was  ridiculous.  Perhaps  there  was  a 
certain  amount  of  disaffection  among  the  Punjab 
regiments  due  to  the  Agrarian  legislation  under- 
taken by  the  Punjab  Government,  which  deeply  and 
detrimentally  affected  the  classes  from  which  the 
army  was  recruited.  When  the  legislation  objected 
to  was  vetoed,  that  cause  of  disaffection  was  re- 
moved; but  since  then  fresh  causes  have  affected 


1 86  YOUNG  INDIA 

at  least  certain  sections  of  the  army  also,  so  that  it 
cannot  be  said  that  the  whole  army  is  free  from 
disaffection.  The  riot  at  Singapore,  caused  by  the 
revolt  of  one  of  the  Indian  regiments  stationed 
there,  and  certain  happenings  in  the  Punjab,  amply 
prove  this. 


CHAPTER  V. 

TYPES   OF   NATIONALISTS 

We  will  now  see  how  many  types  of  Nationalists 
there  are  in  India.  From  what  follows  in  the  chap- 
ter, the  reader  should  not  conclude  that  the  Indian 
Nationalists  are  disunited.  So  far  as  the  goal  is 
concerned  there  is  practical  unanimity  in  all  ranks. 
Even  those  who  stand  for  complete  independence 
would  be  glad  to  have  self-government  within  the 
Empire,  if  that  were  promised  in  the  near  future. 
As  to  methods,  there  is  the  usual  cleavage  to  be 
found  in  all  struggles  for  freedom  in  all  countries. 
One  party  stands  for  the  use  of  physical  force,  the 
other  for  peaceful  means.  The  Indian  National- 
ists, too,  are  divided  into  two  parties,  the  physical 
force  party  and  the  moderate  party.  The  follow- 
ing account  of  the  types  is  intended  to  show  the 
different  lines  of  their  thinking.  Complete  unanim- 
ity in  principles  and  methods  can  only  be  expected 
of  a  collection  of  machine-made  clogs  of  wood. 

The  Extremists.  ( I )  To  take  up  the  extremists 
first:  There  are  some  who  do  not  recognise  the 
British  Government  at  all.  They  think  that  the 
Government  of  the  British  in  India  is  founded  on 
force  and  fraud.     They  have  therefore  no  scruples 

187. 


188  YOUNG  INDIA 

to  use  force  as  well  as  fraud  against  the  Govern- 
ment. In  their  eyes  every  one  who  is  helping  the 
Government  in  India  either  by  accepting  their  serv- 
ice or  otherwise  by  willing  co-operation,  abets  the 
crime  of  which  the  Britishers  are  guilty.  They  do 
not  recognise  British  laws  nor  their  courts.  They 
have  no  respect  or  use  for  either.  They  believe  that 
their  nationalism  gives  them  the  right  of  removing 
everyone  who  stands  in  the  way  of  their  propaganda, 
whether  by  force  or  fraud.  In  their  heart  of  hearts 
they  are  against  every  one  who  supports  the  British 
Government  in  India,  but  in  the  prosecution  of  their 
object  they  do  not  desire  to  strike  at  all  of  them. 
But  if  need  be  they  are  prepared  to  strike  at  any  one. 
They  have  declared  war  against  the  British  Govern- 
ment. Their  leaders  have  assumed  the  right  of 
passing  sentences  against  those  who  are  of  the 
enemy.  They  judge  and  deal  severely  with  those 
whom  they  think  guilty  of  treason  against  them. 
They  also  consider  themselves  entitled  to  collect 
taxes  as  they  call  them,  and  make  impositions  on 
people  in  India.  Acting  on  the  principle  that  the 
safety  of  the  state  is  the  first  consideration  for  all 
those  who  form  the  state,  and  that  in  case  of  neces- 
sity the  state  has  a  right  to  use  the  property  of 
every  private  individual  who  is  included  in  the  body 
politic,  they  are  prepared  to  exact  their  impositions 
by  force.  The  fact  that  the  British  Government  is 
the  enemy  against  whom  they  have  declared  war, 
gives  them  the  right  to  loot  British  treasuries  and  in- 
jure their  property  wherever  and  whenever  they  can. 
The  other  principle  stated  above  justifies  in  their 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  189 

eyes  the  taking  by  force  of  the  property  or  wealth  of 
those  who  would  not  give  it  willingly  or  voluntarily 
for  the  safety  of  the  state  as  conceived  by  them. 
Hence  the  "  dacoities." 

A  few  Nihilists.  The  men  engaged  in  those 
dacoities  are  of  two  kinds :  There  are  those  who 
have  no  moral  or  religious  scruples.  They  are  "  ni- 
hilists." But  their  number  is  exceedingly  small. 
They  are  not  immoral  people.  For  their  own  self 
or  for  private  persons,  they  would  not  do  anything 
which  in  any  way  contravenes  the  prevailing  code  of 
morality;  they  would  neither  steal  nor  rob,  nor  kill 
nor  injure  any  person.  But  for  the  purpose  of  their 
movement  they  would  do  anything.  Their  number 
however  is,  as  we  said  above,  exceedingly  small. 
Then  there  are  those  who  are  extremely  religious 
and  spiritual.  Some  of  them  are  the  followers  of 
the  "  Kali "  l  cult  as  it  is  understood  in  Bengal ; 
others  are  Vedantists.  There  are  some  who  are 
deists  or  theists. 

Religions  Extremists.  In  every  case,  however, 
they  believe  that  the  British  are  the  enemies  of  their 
•Motherland  and  also  of  their  religion.  They  would 
not  touch  one  hair  of  any  one  simply  because  that 
person  belonged  to  a  religion  different  from  theirs; 
but  they  would  not  scruple  to  kill  any  one  who  inter- 
feres with  their  religion.  They  believe  that  they 
owe  their  lives  to  the  Motherland,  whom  they  wor- 
ship as  the  means  of  enabling  them  to  be  worthy  of 
the  worship  of  the  Supreme  Mother  of  the  Universe. 

1  Name  of  a  religious  sect.     See  Pratts'  India  and  Its  Faiths, 
p.  13- 


190  YOUNG  INDIA 

We  will  once  more  quote  Mr.  Pal  2  to  explain  what 
we  mean,  or  rather  how  he  puts  the  idea : 

The  Mother  Worshippers.  "  The  so-called  idol- 
atry of  Hinduism,"  he  says,  "  is  also  passing  through 
a  mighty  transfiguration.  The  process  started 
really  with  Bankim  Chandra,3  who  interpreted  the 
most  popular  of  the  Hindu  goddesses  as  symbolic 
of  the  different  stages  of  national  evolution. 
Jagatdhatri  —  riding  a  lion  which  has  the  prostrate 
body  of  an  elephant  under  its  paw,  represented  the 
motherland  in  the  early  jungle-clearing  stage.  This 
is,  says  Bankim  Chandra,  the  mother  as  she  was. 
Kali,  the  grim  goddess,  dark  and  naked,  bearing  a 
garland  of  human  heads  around  her  neck, —  heads 
from  which  blood  is  dripping, —  and  dancing  on  the 
prostrate  form  of  Shiva,  the  God  —  this,  says  Ban- 
kim Chandra,  is  the  mother  as  she  is,  dark,  because 
ignorant  of  herself;  the  heads  with  dripping  blood 
are  those  of  her  own  children,  destroyed  by  famine 
and  pestilence;  the  jackals4  licking  these  drippings 
are  the  symbol  of  desolation  and  decadence  of  social 
life,  and  the  prostrate  form  of  Shiva  means  that  she 
is  trampling  her  own  God  under  her  feet.  Durga, 
the  ten-headed  goddess,  armed  with  swords  and 
spears  in  some  hands,  holding  wheat-sheaves  in 
some,  offering  courage  and  peace  with  others,  riding 
a  lion,  fighting  with  demons ;  with  Sarasvati,  or  the 
goddess    of    Knowledge    and   Arts,    supported    by 

2  The  Spirit  of  Indian  Nationalism,  by  Mr.  B.  C.  Pal.  p.  36. 

3  A  great  Bengalee  writer  of  fiction  who  composed  the  well- 
known  nationalist  song,  "  Bande  Matajam "  or  Hail  Mother- 
land. 

4  Or  the  foreign  exploiters. 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  191 

Ganapati,  the  god  of  Wisdom,  on  her  one  side,  and 
Lakshmi,  the  goddess  of  Wealth,  protected  by  Karti- 
keya,  the  leader  of  the  Heavenly  army,  on  the  other 
side  —  this,  says  Bankim  Chandra,  is  the  mother  as 
she  will  be.  This  interpretation  of  the  old  images 
of  gods  and  goddesses  has  imparted  a  new  meaning 
to  the  current  ceremonialism  of  the  country,  and 
multitudes,  while  worshipping  either  Jagatdhatri,  or 
Kali,  or  Durga,  accost  them  with  devotion  and  en- 
thusiasm, with  the  inspiring  cry  of  Bande  Mataram. 
All  these  are  the  popular  objects  of  worship  of  the 
Indian  Hindus,  especially  in  Bengal.  And  the  trans- 
figuration of  these  symbols  is  at  once  the  cause  and 
the  evidence  of  the  depth  and  the  strength  of  the 
present  movement.  This  wonderful  transfiguration 
of  the  old  gods  and  goddesses  is  carrying  the  mes- 
sage of  new  nationalism  to  the  women  and  the 
masses  of  the  country." 

Vedantists.  "  Behind  this  mighty  transfiguration 
of  the  old  religious  ideas  and  symbols  of  the  country 
stands,  however,  a  new  philosophy  of  life.  Strictly 
speaking,  it  is  not  a  new  philosophy  either,  but  rather 
a  somewhat  new  application  of  the  dominant  philo- 
sophical speculations  of  the  race.  Behind  the  new 
nationalism  in  India  stands  the  old  Vedantism  of 
the  Hindus.  This  ancient  Indian  philosophy,  di- 
vided into  many  schools,  has  one  general  idea  run- 
ning through  it  from  end  to  end.  It  is  the  idea  of 
the  essential  unity  of  man  and  God.  According  to 
this  philosophy,  Substance  is  one  though  expressed 
through  many  forms.  Reality  is  one  though  ap- 
pearances are  multitudinous.     Matter,  in  the  eye  of 


192  YOUNG  INDIA 

this  philosophy,  is  not  material,  but  essentially  spir- 
itual, the  thought  of  God  concretised.  Man  is  the 
spirit  of  God  incarnated.  The  meaning  of  cosmic 
evolution  is  to  be  found,  not  in  itself,  but  in  the 
thought  of  the  Absolute.  It  is,  to  adopt  the  Hegel- 
ian dictum,  the  movement  of  the  Self  away  from 
itself,  to  return  to  itself,  to  be  itself.  The  Absolute, 
or  Brahman,  is  the  beginning,  the  middle,  and  the 
end  of  this  evolutionary  process.  He  is  the  Regu- 
lative idea.  He  is  cosmic  evolution.  He  is  pro- 
gressively revealing  himself  through  the  world 
process.  In  man,  the  Divine  idea,  or  the  Logos, 
comes  slowly  to  consciousness  of  itself.  The  end 
of  human  evolution  is  the  fullest  realisation  of  man's 
unity  with  God.  Long,  especially  in  what  may  be 
called  the  middle  ages  in  India,  this  essential  unity 
between  God  and  man  was  sought  to  be  realised 
through  metaphysical  abstractions,  by  negation  of 
the  social  and  civic  life.  There  was  an  undue  em- 
phasis on  the  Subjective  and  the  Universal  to  the 
neglect  of  the  realities  (however  relative  they  might 
be)  of  the  Objective  and  the  Particular.  Protests 
had,  however,  been  made  from  time  to  time  against 
these  monkish  abstractions,  but  in  spite  of  these  ab- 
stractions the  dominant  note  continued  to  be  that  of 
Abstract  Monism.  Neo-Vedantism,  which  forms 
the  very  soul  and  essence  of  what  may  be  called  Neo- 
Hinduism,  has  been  seeking  to  realise  the  old 
spiritual  ideals  of  the  race,  not  through  monkish 
negations  or  mediaeval  abstractions,  but  by  the 
idealisation  and  the  spiritualisation  of  the  concrete 
contents  and  actual  relations  of  life.     It  demands, 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  193 

consequently,  a  social,  an  economic,  and  a  political 
reconstruction,  such  as  will  be  helpful  to  the  highest 
spiritual  life  of  every  individual  member  of  the  com- 
munity. The  spiritual  note  of  the  present  National- 
ist Movement  in  India  is  entirely  derived  from  this 
Vedantic  thought. 

"  Under  the  influence  of  this  Neo-Vedantism,  as- 
sociated to  a  large  extent  with  the  name  of  the  late 
Swami  Vivekananda,  there  has  been  at  work  a  slow 
and  silent  process  of  the  liberalisation  of  the  old 
social  ideas.  The  old  bigotry  that  anathematised 
the  least  deviation  from  the  rules  of  caste,  or  the 
authority  of  custom,  is  openly  giving  way  to  a  spirit 
of  new  tolerance.  The  imperious  necessities  of  na- 
tional struggle  and  national  life  are  slowly  breaking 
down,  except  in  purely  ceremonial  affairs,  the  old 
restrictions  of  caste.  In  the  new  movement,  old  and 
orthodox  Brahmins  are  rendering  open  obeisance 
to  the  heterodox  and  non-Brahmin  teachers.  There 
is  an  evident  anxiety  to  discover  spiritual  and  tra- 
ditional authority  for  even  the  outrages  that  some  of 
these  have  committed  against  the  old  social  and 
sacerdotal  order.  And  where  no  such  authority 
could  be  found,  their  personal  freedom  of  thought 
and  action  is  being  condoned  on  the  principle  that 
those  who  are  to  be  the  saviours  of  their  nation 
stand,  like  the  mendicant  and  the  holy  man,  above 
all  law.  And  all  this  is  a  proof  of  the  strange  hold 
that  the  new  nationalist  propaganda  has  got  on  the 
real  mind  and  soul  of  the  people." 

To  these  two  classes,  the  Mother  worshippers, 
and  the  Vedantists,  belong  the  great  bulk  of  the  Ben- 


194  YOUNG  INDIA 

gal  Nationalists.  They  are  neither  "  nihilists  "  nor 
"  anarchists."  They  are  patriots  who  have  raised 
their  patriotism  to  the  pitch  of  a  religion.  Their  re- 
ligion remarkably  fits  in  with  their  patriotism  and 
makes  the  latter  indescribably  intense  and  alive. 
Their  whole  life  is  permeated  with  it.  They  realise 
their  "  duty  "  every  moment  of  their  life  and  they 
are  prepared  to  do  anything  and  take  any  and  every 
risk  in  the  performance  of  that  duty.  They  live  on 
little;  their  food  is  abstemious;  they  scrupulously 
avoid  liquor;  they  clothe  themselves  scantily;  lux- 
ury they  do  not  know.  They  can  fast  for  days  and 
go  without  sleep  for  days.  Generally  they  are  men 
of  their  word,  men  of  honour,  imbued  with  a  strong 
idea  of  self-respect,  true  to  their  vows;  men  who  are 
not  swayed  by  lust  or  passion. 

To  this  class  belonged  most  of  the  Maniktolah 
party,  Barendra  and  his  friends.  But  it  is  evident 
that  there  are  some  theists  among  them,  i.  e.,  theists 
in  the  Western  sense  of  the  term.  The  man  who 
shot  Gossain,  the  first  approver5  in  Bengal,  was  a 

6  It  was  in  the  first  half  of  the  year  1908  that  the  first  bomb 
was  thrown  at  Muzaffarpur,  Behar.  It  was  meant  for  a 
Magistrate  who  had  been  passing  sentences  of  whipping  on 
nationalist  youths,  but  by  mistake  it  struck  a  quite  innocent 
person.  The  investigation  of  this  case  resulted  in  the  dis- 
covery of  a  big  conspiracy.  The  trial  of  this  conspiracy  is 
known  by  the  name  "  Maniktolah  Bomb  Case  "  from  the  fact 
that  the  headquarters  of  this  conspiracy  were  alleged  to  have 
been  in  the  Maniktolah  gardens,  Calcutta.  One  of  the  con- 
spirators Narendra  Nath  Gossain  became  an  approver.  After 
the  case  had  been  committed  for  trial  before  the  Sessions 
Court  and  when  the  approver  and  the  accused  were  both 
lodged  ifi  jail  at  Alipore,  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  con- 
spiracy shot  the  approver  dead  with  a  rifle  which  had  been 
smuggled  into  the  jail  premises  by  their  friends. 


Har  Dayal 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  195 

Brahmo  (member  of  the  Brahmo  Samaj).  They 
have  some  Mohammedans  and  some  Christians,  too, 
among  them.  Brahm  Bhandu  Bandhopadhyai G  was 
a  Christian  at  one  time.  These  people  have  follow- 
ers and  adherents  throughout  India,  in  the  Punjab, 
in  the  United  Provinces,  in  Maharastra,  in  Gujrat, 
in  Behar,  in  Rajputana,  even  in  Madras. 

Advocates  of  Organised  Rebellion.  (2)  Next  in 
order  come  those  who  differ  from  the  first  in  so  far 
as  they  do  not  believe  in  individual  murders  or 
dacoities.  For  traitors  and  approvers  even  they 
have  no  mercy,  but  they  would  not  murder  indi- 
vidual British  officers  or  Indians  in  the  service  of  the 
Government;  nor  would  they  rob  private  persons. 
They  are  for  organised  rebellion,  for  tampering  with 
the  army,  for  raising  the  standard  of  revolt,  and  for 
carrying  on  a  guerilla  war.  For  the  purposes  of 
this  rebellion  or  war  they  may  do  and  will  do  any- 
thing that  is  necessary  to  be  done ;  but  otherwise  they 
would  neither  murder  nor  loot. 

Har  Dayal.  To  this  class,  I  think,  belongs  Har 
Dayal.  It  is  very  interesting  to  note  the  develop- 
ment of  this  man.  He  comes  from  a  Kayastha 
family  of  Delhi  and  received  his  education  in  a  mis- 
sion school  and  a  mission  college  under  Christian  in- 
fluence. He  was  a  member  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  when  he  graduated.  Then  he 
came  to  Lahore  and  joined  the  government  college 
there,  as  a  stipend  holder,  where  he  took  his  Master 
of  Arts  degree  in  1903,  standing  at  the  top  of  the 
list.     His  subject  was  "  English  language  and  litera- 

6  A  great  Nationalist  leader  of  Bengal,  now  dead. 


196  YOUNG  INDIA 

ture  "  and  so  thorough  was  his  mastery  of  the  lan- 
guage that  in  some  papers  he  obtained  full  marks. 
He  continued  there  for  another  year  and  took  his 
M.A.  degree  a  second  time  in  History.  All  this 
time  he  was  a  cosmopolitan,  more  of  a  Brahmo  than 
a  Hindu  or  a  Nationalist.  Then  he  left  for  Eng- 
land, having  secured  a  Government  of  India  schol- 
arship, and  joined  the  St.  John's  College  at  Oxford. 
It  is  needless  to  say  that  even  here  he  maintained  his 
reputation  for  brilliant  scholarship,  but  what  is  re- 
markable is,  that  it  was  here  that  he  became  a  Na- 
tionalist. He  is  a  man  of  strong  impulses.  For 
him,  to  believe  is  to  act.  It  appears  that  within  a 
short  time  he  developed  ideas  of  a  rather  extreme 
type.  He  came  to  believe  that  the  English  were  un- 
dermining Hindu  character;  that  their  educational 
policy  and  methods  had  been  designed  to  destroy 
Hinduism  and  to  perpetuate  the  political  bondage  of 
the  Hindus,  by  destroying  their  social  consciousness 
and  their  national  individuality.  He  studied  the 
history  of  the  British  rule  and  British  institutions  in 
India  from  original  documents,  parliamentary  blue 
books  and  varied  other  sources,  and  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  British  were  deliberately  Anglicising 
the  Indians  with  a  view  to  destroying  their  national- 
ism and  to  impressing  them  with  the  inferiority  of 
their  institutions,  so  that  they  might  value  the  British 
connection  and  become  Britishers.  He  thought  it 
wrong  to  study  in  their  institutions,  take  their  de- 
grees, and  otherwise  benefit  from  anything  which 
they  did  as  rulers  of  India.  As  we  have  said  above, 
for  him  to  believe  was  to  act.     As  soon  as  he  formed 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  197 

the  above  opinions,  he  made  up  his  mind  to  resign 
his  stipend,  give  up  his  studies,  and  return  to  India, 
which  he  did  towards  the  end  of  1907.  Even  before 
he  reached  India,  he  gave  up  English  dress  and  began 
to  eschew  all  the  peculiarities  of  English  life.  He 
took  to  Indian  shoes,  Indian  cap,  Indian  Kurta 
(shirt),  Indian  Pa  jama  (trousers)  and  wrapped 
himself  in  an  Indian  shawl.  He  would  not  even 
mix  with  Mohammedans  and  Christians.  For  a 
time  he  was  a  strict  Hindu  in  form,  though  not  in 
religion.  When  his  old  master,  Principal  Rudra  of 
the  Delhi  St.  Stephen's  College,  called  on  him  at  La- 
hore, he  would  not  shake  hands  with  him  nor  offer 
him  a  seat  on  his  mat,  because  he  was  a  Christian 
(he  had  no  chairs).  His  cult  at  that  time  was  a 
wholesale  and  complete  boycott  of  British  govern- 
ment and  British  institutions.  He  aimed  to  estab- 
lish an  order  of  Hindu  ascetics  to  preach  his  ideas 
and  to  spread  his  propaganda.  With  that  view  he 
collected  about  half  a  dozen  young  men  about  him, 
who,  under  his  inspiration,  left  their  studies  as  well 
as  their  homes  and  showed  their  readiness  to  do  as 
he  would  wish  them  to  do.  He  lived  a  life  of  purity 
and  wanted  others  to  do  the  same.  At  that  time 
he  did  not  believe  in  or  preach  violence.  He  dis- 
cussed, argued,  preached,  and  wrote  for  the  press. 
His  writings  began  to  attract  attention,  and  so  did 
his  activities,  and  it  was  feared  that  the  Government 
would  soon  find  some  means  of  putting  him  out  of 
the  way.  So  he  decided  to  leave  the  country,  and 
in  the  beginning  of  the  second  half  of  the  year  1908 
left  India  for  good.     He  went  to  England,  with  the 


198  YOUNG  INDIA 

idea  of  preaching  his  gospel  among  the  Indian  stu- 
dents in  England.  He  stayed  there  for  some  time 
and  found  out  that  there  was  not  much  scope  for 
his  type  of  nationalism.  He  also  feared  that  the 
British  Government  might  arrest  him.  So  he  left 
England  and  for  about  two  years  travelled,  to  and 
fro,  to  find  a  place  where  he  could  live  very  cheaply 
and  without  fear  of  molestation  from  the  British 
Government  and  carry  on  his  propaganda.  He  was 
for  over  a  year  in  France,  where  he  came  in  contact 
with  the  best  political  thought  of  Europe.  Here  he 
made  friends  with  Egyptian  nationalists  and  Rus- 
sian revolutionists.  His  knowledge  of  the  French 
language  was  good.  He  could  not  only  speak  that 
language  fluently,  but  could  compose  in  it.  He  used 
to  write  occasionally  for  the  French  press.  He  can 
use  the  German  language  also.  Eventually  he  came 
to  America  and  settled  here.  The  contributions 
that  he  made  to  the  Indian  press  during  the  first  year 
of  his  sojourn  in  the  United  States  did  not  indicate 
any  very  great  change  in  his  views  on  Nationalism, 
but  a  year  after  he  was  quite  a  different  man.  His 
political  nationalism  remained  the  same,  but  his 
views  on  social  questions,  on  morality,  on  Hindu 
literature  and  Hindu  institutions,  underwent  a  com- 
plete metamorphosis.  He  began  to  look  down  upon 
everything  Hindu  and  developed  a  great  admiration 
for  Occidental  ideas  of  freedom.  There  is,  how- 
ever, one  thing  about  him  that  has  stuck  fast,  and 
that  is  his  hatred  of  British  rule  in  India.  His  pres- 
ent cult  is  to  dissuade  Indians  from  engaging  in  any 
work  except  that  of  political  propaganda.     We  are 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  199 

told  by  him  (that  was  what  he  said  to  American 
journalists  at  the  time  of  his  arrest  in  San  Fran- 
cisco as  an  undesirable  alien)  that  he  is  not  an 
anarchist  and  that  he  does  not  advocate  the  use  of 
bomb  and  of  revolver  for  private  murders  or  for 
the  murders  of  individuals.  We  have  no  reason  to 
disbelieve  him.  Nobody,  however,  knows  what 
changes  are  yet  to  take  place  in  his  views.  He  is  a 
quite  uncertain  item.  He  is  an  idealist  of  a  strange 
type.  He  is  simple  in  his  life  and  apparently  quite 
indifferent  to  the  opinions  of  others  about  him.  He 
does  not  court  favour  at  the  hands  of  any  one  and 
would  go  out  of  his  way  to  help  others.  He  is  loved 
and  respected  by  hundreds  and  thousands  of  his 
countrymen,  including  those  who  do  not  agree  with 
his  views  or  his  propaganda  or  his  programme. 
Even  the  late  Mr.  Gokhale  admired  him. 

Hardayalism.  Har  Dayal  is  an  advocate  of  open 
rebellion;  he  does  not  advocate  the  use  of  the  bomb 
or  the  revolver  for  killing  individuals,  but  he  ad- 
mires and  glorifies  those  who  have  risked  their  lives 
using  the  same.7 

Neither  of  these  classes  is  prepared  to  make  any 
compromise  with  the  British.  They  stand  for  abso- 
lute independence;  full  Sivaraj.  They  know,  per- 
haps, that  they  have  a  very  difficult  task  before  them, 
but  they  have  confidence  in  themselves  and  believe 
that  the  difficulties  are  not  insuperable.  They  do 
not  believe  that   in  order   to   gain   Swaraj,   India 

7  One  of  his  followers  in  San  Francisco  has  told  me  that  this 
description  of  him,  viz.,  that  he  does  not  advocate  the  use  of 
the  bomb  or  the  revolver  is  not  correct. 


200  YOUNG  INDIA 

should  have  more  widespread  education,  or  that 
social  reform  and  social  consolidation  must  precede 
political  freedom.  They  consider  that  these  are  all 
fads,  ideas  with  which  the  British  have  inoculated 
the  Indians  in  order  to  keep  them  busy  with  non- 
political  activities  and  to  keep  down  their  manhood. 
It  is  a  part  of  the  imperial  game  that  the  rulers 
should  manage  to  fill  the  ruled  with  the  idea  of  their 
own  incompetence  to  manage  their  affairs,  of  their 
inability  to  unite,  of  many  differences  and  divisions 
among  them,  and  of  their  incapacity  to  win  their 
freedom.  These  nationalists  deprecate  communal 
or  sectional  activities.  They  do  not  countenance  the 
organisations  engaged  in  religious  and  social  reform. 
In  their  opinion  all  these  so-called  reform  organisa- 
tions are  doing  positive  mischief  in  keeping  the  na- 
tion engaged  in  less  important  matters  and  in 
directing  the  nation's  mind  from  the  all  important 
question  of  national  freedom.  They  want  to  con- 
centrate the  nation's  mind  on  this  one  point. 

Political  Freedom  the  First  Condition  of  Life. 
According  to  them  life  in  political  bondage  or  in 
political  subjection  is  a  negation  of  life.  Life  signi- 
fies power  and  capacity  to  grow  and  progress.  A 
slave,  a  bondsman,  is  not  free  to  grow.  His  inter- 
ests are  always  subordinate  to  those  of  his  master. 
He  must  give  the  best  in  him  to  the  service  of  the 
latter.  His  will  must  always  be  under  his  master's 
will,  who  is  practically  his  conscience's  keeper.  No 
man  can  grow  to  the  full  stature  of  his  manhood ;  no 
man  can  rise  to  the  best  in  him;  no  man  can  make 
the  best  use  of  his  faculties  and  opportunities;  no 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  201 

man  can  develop  either  his  body  or  his  soul  accord- 
ing to  his  liking,  under  these  circumstances.  What- 
ever he  does,  he  does  for  his  master,  in  his  name  and 
in  his  interest.  The  credit  and  the  glory  and  the 
benefit  of  it,  all  accrue  to  him.8  If  this  is  true  of  an 
individual  slave,  it  is  equally  true  of  a  nation  in 
political  bondage. 

As  a  proof  of  the  truth  of  their  statements,  they 
point  to  the  history  and  activities  of  the  Indian  Na- 
tional Congress.  The  Congress  people  ask  for  Uni- 
versal Primary  Education ;  the  Government  says  no. 
They  can  not  find  money  for  it ;  "  the  country  is  not 
prepared  for  it;  nor  is  it  good  for  the  people  at 
large."  If  the  masses  are  educated,  they  might  be- 
come discontented  and  create  trouble  for  the  Gov- 
ernment. The  Congress  wants  a  repeal  of  the  Arms 
Act;  the  Government  says  no.  The  people  might 
use  the  arms  against  the  Government,  and  that  is  a 
calamity  to  be  avoided.  The  Congress  desires  that 
Indians  be  enrolled  as  volunteers;  the  Government 
says  no.  It  is  not  desirable  to  give  military  training 
to  the  Indians.  They  might  use  it  against  the  Gov- 
ernment. It  is  not  desirable  to  have  companies  of 
volunteers  composed  of  Indians  only,  as  they  might 
conspire  against  the  reigning  power.  It  is  equally 
undesirable  to  force  them  on  European  and  Eurasian 
companies  against  their  wishes,  as  that  would  wound 
their  social  and  imperial  susceptibilities.  The  Con- 
gress politician  wants  to  protect  Indian  industries; 

8  This  is  illustrated  in  Indian  official  life  day  in  and  day  out. 
It  is  not  a  rare  occurrence  that  the  British  heads  of  the  De- 
partments get  credit  for  what  has  been  achieved  by  the  genius, 
intelligence  and  labour  of  their  Indian  subordinates. 


202  YOUNG  INDIA 

the  Government  says  no.  That  will  injure  Lanca- 
shire. The  Congress  wants  more  of  technical  edu- 
cation; the  Government  says,  the  country  does  not 
need  it  and  they  can  not  spare  funds  for  it.  The 
Congress  wants  national  schools  and  national  uni- 
versities ;  the  Government  says  no,  "  you  may  misuse 
them."  The  keynote  of  the  situation  is,  that  India 
must  exist  in  the  interests  of  England  and  English- 
men ;  or  at  any  rate  England  and  English  politicians 
know  what  is  good  and  useful  for  India,  how  much 
she  should  and  how  much  she  should  not  have;  in 
what  line  she  should  advance  and  in  what  she  should 
not.  India  and  Indians  have  no  right  to  think  for 
themselves.  Anything  they  think  or  decide  to  do 
must  be  tested  by  Englishmen  according  to  their 
standards  and  in  the  way  they  think  it  is  likely  to 
further  the  interests  of  their  empire. 

These  nationalists  therefore  maintain  that  the 
first  condition  of  life, —  life  with  respect  and  honour, 
life  for  profit  and  advantage,  life  for  progress  and 
advancement, —  is  political  freedom.  Life  without 
that  is  no  life.  It  is  idle  therefore  to  think  of  mat- 
ters which  are  manifestations  or  developments  or 
embellishments  of  life. 

Education  can  only  profit  a  living  being.  A 
human  being  instructed  on  the  lines  on  which  certain 
beasts  or  animals  are  instructed,  can,  like  the  latter, 
only  respond  to  the  calls  of  his  master.  The  mas- 
ter wants  them  to  salute;  they  salute.  The  master 
wants  them  to  dance;  they  dance.  The  master 
wants  them  to  do  any  other  job  for  him;  they  do  it. 
Their  will  and  intellect  are  always  subordinate  to  the 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  203 

master.  Independent  of  the  master,  they  have 
neither  will  nor  intellect.  Education  under  these 
circumstances,  they  maintain,  is  a  degrading-  of 
human  faculties,  and  a  travesty.  In  their  opinion  it 
would  be  best  for  their  people  to  remain  uneducated, 
rather  than  be  educated  only  for  the  benefit  and  use 
of  their  masters. 

Similarly  they  think  that  all  the  schemes  for  social 
reform,  for  sectarian  advancement,  for  commercial 
interests,  are  nothing  more  than  so  many  devices  for 
dividing  the  nation  and  keeping  them  engaged  in 
never-ending  internecine  quarrels.  They  consider 
this  to  be  a  misplaced  dissipation  of  energies  and  a 
misuse  of  opportunities.  They  wish  that  every  man 
and  woman  in  India  should  for  the  present  think  of 
nothing  else  but  political  freedom.  The  first  thing 
is  to  get  rid  of  the  foreigner.  Who  will  rule  India 
and  how,  what  shape  will  the  government  of  the 
country  take,  how  will  the  different  religions  and 
different  interests  be  represented  therein?  —  these 
and  other  cognate  questions  do  not  trouble  them. 
They  believe  that  as  soon  as  England  leaves  India, 
some  one  will  rise  sphinxlike  who  will  establish 
some  form  of  national  government.  The  time  will 
produce  the  man.  It  would  be  then  time  to  think 
and  discuss  how  to  improve  it.  They  do  not  mind 
if  the  Hindus  or  the  Mohammedans  or  the  Sikhs  or 
the  Gurkhas  rule  India ;  nor  whether  it  is  the  Maha- 
raja of  Nepal  or  that  of  Odeypore,  or  that  of  Baroda, 
or  that  of  Patiala,  or  the  Nawab  of  Hyderabad,  or 
that  of  Bhawalpore,  who  becomes  supreme;  nor 
whether  the  form  of  government  is  monarchical  or 


204  YOUNG  INDIA 

oligarchic,  or  republican.  These  questions  do  not 
trouble  them.  They  do  not,  of  course,  want  any 
foreign  government,  but  if  the  way  of  eventual  na- 
tional freedom  lies  that  way,  they  do  not  mind  even 
that.  Anything  would  be  better  than  the  present 
government.  The  British  Government  is  slowly 
dissolving  the  nation.  If  they  have  to  die,  they 
would  rather  die  of  plague  or  cholera,  than  of  ty- 
phoid or  consumption.  The  apprehensions  of  dis- 
turbances of  peace  do  not  frighten  them.  They  are 
sick  of  peace.  Peace  under  existing  conditions  has 
unmanned  the  nation ;  it  has  emasculated  the  people 
and  sapped  their  manhood.  Anything  rather  than 
peace  at  such  price.  The  desire  for  peace  on  any 
terms,  has  been  the  curse  of  British  rule.  It  has 
done  them  more  harm  than  disorder  or  anarchy  ever 
did.  Blessed  was  the  disorder  that  preceded  the  rise 
of  the  Mahratta  power  or  the  establishment  of  the 
Sikh  commonwealth.  Blessed  were  the  conditions 
of  life  that  produced  a  Partap,  a  Sivaji,  a  Durga 
Dass,  and  a  Govind  Singh.9  Cursed  are  the  condi- 
tions of  peace  that  can  only  produce  Daffadars  and 
Jamadars  or  at  the  most  Risaldars  10  or  Kaiser- 
Hind-medallists. 

This  is  Hardayalism.  Most  of  the  Nationalists 
of  the  two  classes  described  above  belong  to  this 
school,  but  there  are  some  among  them  who  do  not 
wholly  fall  in  with  this  view.  They  are  prepared  to 
agree  that  the  political  question  must  always  be  in 
the  forefront,  and  that  nothing  should  be  done  which 

9  Indian  heroes. 

10  Non-commissioned  officers  of  the  native  Indian  army. 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  205 

may  in  any  way  overshadow  this  or  relegate  it  to  a 
secondary  position ;  but  they  do  not  believe  that  poli- 
tics alone  should  usurp  the  whole  thought  and  life 
of  the  nation.  It  would  not  be  right  to  conclude 
from  the  above  description  that  the  Indian  National- 
ists have  no  constructive  programme  for  the  future, 
but  it  is  obvious  that  in  the  absence  of  freedom  and 
opportunities  to  discuss  it  openly,  opinions  on  the 
subject  can  not  be  crystallised. 

Arabinda  Ghosh  —  Vedantist  and  Sivarajist.  It 
is  difficult  to  say  to  which  of  these  classes,  if  to  either 
at  all,  Arabinda  Ghosh  belonged  or  still  belongs.  At 
one  time  it  was  believed  that  he  belonged  to  the  first 
class,  to  which  most  of  the  other  Bengalee  extrem- 
ists belonged,  but  whether  that  belief  was  right  and 
whether  he  still  thinks  on  the  same  lines,  it  is  difficult 
to  say.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  he  was  and  is 
quite  unlike  Har  Dayal  in  his  line  of  thought.  In 
intellectual  acumen  and  in  scholastic  accomplish- 
ments he  is  perhaps  superior  to  Har  Dayal,  but  above 
all  he  is  deeply  religious  and  spiritual.  He  is  a  wor- 
shipper of  Krishna  and  is  a  high-souled  Vedantist. 
Even  simpler  and  more  ascetic  in  his  life  and  habits 
than  Har  Dayal,  he  is  for  an  all-around  development 
of  Indian  Nationalism.  His  notions  of  life  and 
morality  are  pre-eminently  Hindu  and  he  believes  in 
the  spiritual  mission  of  his  people.  His  views  may 
better  be  gathered  from  an  interview,  which  he  re- 
cently gave  to  a  correspondent  of  The  Hindu,  of 
Madras.  We  quote  the  interview  almost  bodily  and 
in  the  words  of  the  interviewer. 


206  YOUNG  INDIA 

"  But  what  do  you  think  of  the  1914  Congress  and 
Conferences?  "  I  insisted. 

He  spoke  almost  with  reluctance  but  in  clear  and 
firm  accents.  He  said :  "  I  do  not  find  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  Christmas  Conferences  very  inter- 
esting and  inspiring.  They  seem  to  me  to  be  mere 
repetitions  of  the  petty  and  lifeless  formulas  of  the 
past  and  hardly  to  show  any  sense  of  the  great 
breath  of  the  future  that  is  blowing  upon  us.  I 
make  an  exception  of  the  speech  of  the  Congress 
President  which  struck  me  as  far  above  the  ordinary 
level.  Some  people,  apparently,  found  it  visionary 
and  unpractical.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  the  one  prac- 
tical and  vital  thing  that  has  been  said  in  India  for 
some  time  past." 

He  continued :  "  The  old,  petty  forms  and  little 
narrow,  make-believe  activities  are  getting  out  of 
date.  The  world  is  changing  rapidly  around  us  and 
preparing  for  more  colossal  changes  in  the  future. 
We  must  rise  to  the  greatness  of  thought  and  action 
which  it  will  demand  from  the  nations  who  hope  to 
live.  No,  it  is  not  in  any  of  the  old  formal  activi- 
ties, but  deeper  down  that  I  find  signs  of  progress 
and  hope.  The  last  few  years  have  been  a  period  of 
silence  and  compression,  in  which  the  awakened 
Virya  1X  and  Tejas  of  the  nation  have  been  concen- 
trating for  a  greater  outburst  of  a  better  directed 
energy  in  the  future. 

"  We  are  a  nation  of  three  hundred  millions," 
added  Mr.  Ghosh,  "  inhabiting  a  great  country  in 
which  many  civilisations  have  met,  full  of  rich  ma- 

11  Force,  energy  and  vitality. 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  207 

terial  and  unused  capacities.  We  must  cease  to 
think  and  act  like  the  inhabitants  of  an  obscure  and 
petty  village." 

"If  you.  don't  like  our  political  methods,  what 
would  you  advise  us  to  do  for  the  realisation  of  our 
destiny?  " 

He  quickly  replied :  "  Only  by  a  general  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  awakening  can  this  nation  fulfil 
its  destiny.  Our  limited  information,  our  second- 
hand intellectual  activities,  our  bounded  interests, 
our  narrow  life  of  little  family  aims  and  small 
money  getting  have  prevented  us  from  entering  into 
the  broad  life  of  the  world.  Fortunately,  there  are 
ever-increasing  signs  of  a  widened  outlook,  a  richer 
intellectual  output  and  numerous  sparks  of  liberal 
genius  which  show  that  the  necessary  change  is 
coming.  No  nation  in  modern  times  can  grow  great 
by  politics  alone.  A  rich  and  varied  life,  energetic 
in  all  its  parts,  is  the  condition  of  a  sound,  vigor- 
ous national  existence.  From  this  point  of  view 
also  the  last  five  years  have  been  a  great  benefit  to 
the  country." 

I  then  asked  what  he  thought  of  the  vastly  im- 
proved relations  that  now  exist  between  the  Briton 
and  the  Indian  in  our  own  country  and  elsewhere. 

"  It  is  a  very  good  thing,"  he  said,  and  he  ex- 
plained himself  in  the  following  manner:  "The 
realisation  of  our  nationhood  separate  from  the  rest 
of  humanity  was  the  governing  idea  of  our  activities 
from  1905  to  1910.  That  movement  has  served  its 
purpose.  It  has  laid  a  good  foundation  for  the 
future.     Whatever  excesses  and  errors  of  speech 


208  YOUNG  INDIA 

and  action  were  then  disclosed,  came  because  our 
energy,  though  admirably  inspired,  lacked  practical 
experience  and  knowledge. 

"  The  idea  of  Indian  nationhood  is  now  not  only 
rooted  in  the  public  mind,  as  all  recent  utterances  go 
to  show,  but  accepted  in  Europe  and  acknowledged 
by  the  Government  and  the  governing  race.  The 
new  idea  that  should  now  lead  us  is  the  realisation 
of  our  nationhood  not  separate  from,  but  in,  the 
future  scheme  of  humanity.  When  it  has  realised 
its  own  national  life  and  unity,  India  will  still  have 
a  part  to  play  in  helping  to  bring  about  the  unity  of 
the  nations." 

I  naturally  put  in  a  remark  about  the  Under-Sec- 
retary's "  Angle  of  Vision." 

"  It  is  well  indeed,"  observed  Mr.  Ghosh,  "  that 
British  statesmen  should  be  thinking  of  India's 
proper  place  in  the  Councils  of  the  Empire,  and  it  is 
obviously  a  thought  which,  if  put  into  effect,  must 
automatically  alter  the  attitude  of  even  the  greatest 
extremists  towards  the  Government  and  change  for 
the  better  all  existing  political  relations. 

"  But  it  is  equally  necessary  that  we,  Indians, 
should  begin  to  think  seriously  what  part  Indian 
thought,  Indian  intellect,  Indian  nationhood,  Indian 
spirituality,  Indian  culture  have  to  fulfil  in  the  gen- 
eral life  of  humanity.  The  humanity  is  bound  to 
grow  increasingly  on.  We  must  necessarily  be  in 
it  and  of  it.  Not  a  spirit  of  aloofness  or  of  jealous 
self-defence,  but  of  generous  emulation  and  brother- 
hood with  all  men  and  all  nations,  justified  by  a  sense 
of  conscious  strength,  a  great  destiny,  a  large  place 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  209 

in  the  human  future  —  this  should  be  the  Indian 
spirit." 

The  oneness  of  humanity  is  a  topic  dear  to  the 
heart  of  Babu  Arabinda  Ghosh  and  when  I  (f.  e.,  the 
interviewer)  suggested  to  him  that  Vedantic  ideas 
would  be  a  good  basis  for  unity,  his  reply  was  full 
of  enthusiasm : 

"  Oh,  yes,"  he  said,  "  I  am  convinced  and  have 
long  been  convinced  that  a  spiritual  awakening,  a  re- 
awakening to  the  true  self  of  a  nation  is  the  most 
important  condition  of  our  national  greatness.  The 
supreme  Indian  idea  of  the  oneness  of  all  men  in 
God  and  its  realisation  inwardly  and  outwardly,  in- 
creasingly even  in  social  relations  and  the  structure 
of  society  is  destined,  I  believe,  to  govern  the  prog- 
ress of  the  human  race.  India,  if  it  chooses,  can 
guide  the  world." 

And  here  I  said  something  about  our  "  four  thou- 
sand "  castes,  our  differences  in  dress  and  in  "  caste 
marks,"  our  vulgar  sectarian  antipathies  and  so 
on. 

"  Not  so  hard,  if  you  please,"  said  Mr.  Ghosh 
with  a  smile.  "  I  quite  agree  with  you  that  our  social 
fabric  will  have  to  be  considerably  altered  before 
long.  We  shall  have,  of  course,  to  enlarge  our  fam- 
ily and  social  life,  not  in  the  petty  spirit  of  present 
day  Social  Reform,  hammering  at  small  details  and 
belittling  our  immediate  past,  but  with  a  larger  idea 
and  more  generous  impulses.  Our  past  with  all  its 
faults  and  defects  should  be  sacred  to  us.  But  the 
claims  of  our  future  with  its  immediate  possibilities 
should  be  still  more  sacred." 


210  YOUNG  INDIA 

His  concluding  words  were  spoken  in  a  very  sol- 
emn mood : 

"  It  is  more  important,"  he  said,  "  that  the  thought 
of  India  should  come  out  of  the  philosophical  school 
and  renew  its  contact  with  life,  and  the  spiritual  life 
of  India  issue  out  of  the  cave  and  the  temple  and, 
adapting  itself  to  new  forms,  lay  its  hand  upon  the 
world.  I  believe  also  that  humanity  is  about  to  en- 
large its  scope  by  new  knowledge,  new  powers  and 
capacities,  which  will  create  as  great  a  revolution  in 
human  life  as  the  physical  science  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Here,  too,  India  holds  in  her  past,  a  little 
rusted  and  put  out  of  use,  the  key  of  humanity's 
future. 

"  It  is  in  these  directions  that  I  have  been  for 
some  time  impelled  to  turn  my  energies  rather  than 
to  the  petty  political  activities  which  are  alone  open 
to  us  at  the  present  moment.  This  is  the  reason  of 
my  continued  retirement  and  detachment  from  ac- 
tion. I  believe  in  the  necessity  at  such  times  and 
for  such  great  objects,  of  Tapasya,12  in  silence  for 
self-training,  for  self-knowledge  and  storage  of 
spiritual  force.  Our  forefathers  used  that  means, 
though  in  different  forms.  And  it  is  the  best 
means  for  becoming  an  efficient  worker  in  the  great 
days  of  the  world." 

Ganesh  Vindyak  Savarkar.  At  this  stage  we 
might  mention  the  name  of  another  Nationalist,  who 
exercised  a  vast  influence  on  young  Indians  in  Eng- 
land for  a  number  of  years  and  is  now  serving  a  life- 

12  Life  of  meditation  and  self-denial. 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  211 

term  in  the  Andamans.  We  mean  Ganesh  Vinayak 
Savarkar.  In  the  simplicity  of  his  life  he  was  of  the 
same  class  as  Arabinda  Ghosh  and  Har  Dayal.  In 
the  purity  of  his  life  he  was  as  high  as  either.  In 
politics  he  fell  in  the  first  category  minus  their  re- 
ligious fervour.  In  his  general  views  he  was  more 
or  less  what  Har  Dayal  is,  minus  his  denunciation 
of  those  who  are  engaged  in  non-political  activities. 
Savarkar  had  extremely  fine  qualities  of  a  leader. 
He  has  been  caught  because  he  was  reckless;  he 
never  cared  about  his  personal  safety;  he  had  the 
dash  of  the  old  warrior  who  always  put  himself  in 
the  post  of  danger.  Har  Dayal  keeps  himself  in  the 
background  and  avoids  danger.  Arabinda  stands 
midway  between  the  two. 

The  Terrorists.  (3)  The  third  class  of  Na- 
tionalists consists  of  those  who  would  like  absolute 
independence,  but  who  do  not  believe  that  it  is  pos- 
sible in  the  near  future.  They  approve  of  the  occa- 
sional use  of  bomb  and  revolver  for  terrorist 
purposes ;  especially  now  when  no  other  method  has 
been  left  of  carrying  on  a  propaganda  of  freedom. 
The  press  has  been  gagged;  the  platform  has  been 
dismantled.  Any  vigorous  political  propaganda,  in- 
cluding strong  criticism  of  the  Government  and  its 
methods,  is  out  of  the  question,  No  one  can  point 
out  the  political  and  economic  disasters  of  foreign 
rule,  much  less  discuss  it  with  reference  to  actual 
facts  and  figures.  There  is  no  other  way  of  remind- 
ing the  people  at  home  and  abroad  of  the  standing 
and  colossal  wrong  which  the  British  Government  is 
guilty  of  in  keeping  India  under  her  yoke.     In  their 


212  YOUNG  INDIA 

opinion,  the  occasional  use  of  the  bomb  and  the  re- 
volver is  the  only  way  to  assert  their  manhood  and 
their  desire  for  freedom,  and  to  announce  their  dis- 
satisfaction and  discontent.  It  attracts  attention 
all  over  the  world.  It  makes  people  think  of  India. 
At  home  it  reminds  people  of  the  wrongs  they  have 
suffered  and  are  suffering  at  the  hands  of  the  Gov- 
ernment. At  first  it  shocks  the  people,  but  then  it 
stirs  them  to  think.  The  bomb  has  entered  Indian 
life,  perhaps  never  to  leave  it.  They  abhor  it,  but 
they  are  getting  accustomed  to  it.  They  do  not  now 
think  so  badly  of  those  who  use  the  bomb  as  they 
once  used  to. 

Advocates  of  Constructive  Nationalisation.  (4) 
In  the  fourth  class  are  comprised  those  who  want  in- 
dependence, but  not  at  once.  They  would  rather 
consolidate  the  nation,  raise  its  intellectual  and  moral 
tone,  increase  its  economic  efficiency,  before  they 
raise  the  standard  of  revolt.  They  do  not  believe 
that  England  will  ever  free  them  or  give  them  even 
Colonial  Self-Government  except  under  very  great 
pressure.  They  do  not  believe  that  nations  let 
things  go  out  of  their  grip  or  hold  if  they  can  help  it, 
and  unless  their  own  safety  demands  it.  In  their 
opinion  the  Congress  as  well  as  the  bomb  have  come 
rather  early.  They  would  have  the  nation  apply 
herself  wholeheartedly  to  the  work  of  education  and 
consolidation. 

Independence,  but  not  at  once.  They  do  not  want 
the  British  to  go  until  the  people  of  India  are  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  turn  them  out  by  force,  and  are 
able  to  protect  themselves  and  to  maintain  their  in- 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS         213 

dependence  and  their  liberties  against  the  outside 
world.  They  recognise  the  force  of  the  argument 
that  the  British  may  never  allow  them  to  grow  so 
strong  as  to  be  able  to  win  their  liberty,  and  by 
waiting  they  might  lose  all  conscious  desire  for 
political  freedom  and  might  become  permanent  para- 
sites. They,  however,  think  that  they  can  guard 
against  such  possibilities  by  keeping  their  national- 
ism alive  and  by  occasionally  suffering  for  it. 
Driven  to  this  corner,  they  admit  that  now  that  the 
Congress  and  the  bomb  have  come,  they  might  stay. 
In  the  opinion  of  some  both  are  useful  in  their  own 
way.  They  would  not  advocate  the  use  of  the  bomb 
and  the  revolver;  in  fact  they  might  in  all  serious- 
ness dissuade  people  from  using  them,  but  when  they 
are  used,  they  would  not  give  up  the  offenders  even 
if  they  knew  who  they  were.  They  would  approve 
the  use  of  the  bomb  and  the  revolver  against  indi- 
vidual tyrants  or  against  people  who  insult  Indian 
manhood  and  womanhood,  as  in  the  present  state  of 
racial  and  political  feeling  in  India  no  other  way  is 
open  to  bring  them  to  book  and  get  justice  against 
Englishmen,  but  they  do  not  like  the  use  of  the  bomb 
and  the  revolver  for  general  political  purposes  or  for 
terrorising.  These  people  believe  in  a  propaganda 
of  selfless  social  service.  The  people  must  be  ap- 
proached and  won  over  by  service  and  love,  before 
any  political  upheaval  is  attempted. 

Preparing  the  Nation  for  Freedom.  Nothing  can 
be  achieved  without  the  help  of  the  people.  "  We 
must  have  the  people  with  us,"  say  they.  "  And  in 
order  to  win  the  people  to  our  side,  we  must  show 


214  YOUNG  INDIA 

them  conclusively  that  we  have  their  interests  at 
heart,  that  we  love  them  perhaps  more  than  we  love 
ourselves,  that  we  are  disinterested  and  public  spir- 
ited and  that  we  are  in  every  respect  better  and  more 
honourable  than  the  foreign  rulers.  Our  moral  su- 
periority over  the  agents  of  the  foreign  government 
must  be  ever  present  in  the  minds  of  the  people  in 
order  to  enable  them  to  support  us  and  back  us  in 
the  coming  political  struggle."  In  their  eyes  the 
Congress  propaganda  has  no  other  value  but  educa- 
tional. They  have  no  faith  in  the  benevolence  of 
British  statesmen  and  they  do  not  believe  that  the 
Congress  would  achieve  anything  substantial.  They 
are  very  uncertain  about  the  future,  and  therefore  to 
them,  the  best  course  open  is  to  engage  in  educa- 
tional and  social  work.  They  are  neither  dreamers 
nor  idealists,  but  practical  patriots,  who  are  content 
to  do  the  spade  work  and  sow  the  seed.  They  con- 
fess that  they  can  not  see  far  ahead  and  are  therefore 
afraid  of  the  demoralising  influences  of  the  bomb 
and  the  revolver.  Nor  can  they  justify  political 
robberies  and  dacoities.  They  think  that,  this  time, 
independence  should  come  never  to  be  lost  again, 
and  in  their  judgment  that  is  only  possible  if  inde- 
pendence is  not  won  by  a  few  but  by  the  whole  united 
nation.  In  the  meantime  they  would  wait  and  build 
up  their  nation. 

Preparatory  Work  from  Below.  The  Congress 
has  failed,  they  say,  because  it  has  been  trying  to  get 
political  concessions  from  above.  The  right  policy 
is  to  work  from  below.  They  do  not  believe  in 
"  mendicancy  " ;  nor  do  they  place  any  reliance  in 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  215 

"  benevolence  and  philanthropy  in  politics."  On  the 
other  hand,  they  differ  from  the  extremists  in  their 
methods,  as  they  believe  in  a  steady  development  of 
the  national  mind  and  the  national  will  and  have  no 
faith  in  heroic  remedies.  They  do  not  care  to  run 
the  risk  of  "  relapses."  They  contain  in  their  num- 
ber some  of  the  noblest  sons  of  India,  whose  life  is  a 
record  of  continuous  selfless  service  in  the  field  of 
social  work.  They  should  not  be  confounded  with 
the  "  resolution  "  patriots  of  the  Social  Conferences 
or  other  conferences;  nor  should  they  be  judged  by 
the  length  of  their  speeches  or  their  fluency  or  capac- 
ity to  deliver  long  orations  in  English.  They  are 
generally  modest  people  who  do  not  claim  erudite 
scholarship  or  great  statesmanship.  They  do  not  go 
in  for  any  recognition,  whether  from  the  Govern- 
ment or  from  the  people.  The  satisfaction  of  their 
own  conscience  and  undisturbed  work  are  the  only 
rewards  they  seek. 

Brahmo  Samaj,  Arya  Samaj,  Ramakrishna  Mis- 
sion. They  are  to  be  found  in  all  sections  of  the 
great  Indian  nation,  in  all  religions,  and  in  all  com- 
munities. They  live  simply  on  simple  fare,  in 
simple  and  scanty  garments  and  in  simple  houses. 
They  earn  m  order  to  give.  They  live  in  order  to 
serve.  To  this  class  belong  some  of  the  Bengalee 
deportees,  and  to  this  class  belong  a  great  many 
members  of  the  Brahmo  Samaj,  the  Arya  Samaj, 
and  the  Ramakrishna  Mission.  They  have  large 
followings,  but  yet  their  number  is  by  no  means 
great.  They  are  well  known  in  their  respective 
circles,  but  are  not  so  well  known  outside,  as  the 


2i6  YOUNG  INDIA 

"  extremists  "  and  "  moderates  "  are.  The  C.  I.  D. 
(Criminal  Investigation  Department)  of  the  Gov- 
ernment keeps  a  close  watch  over  them ;  the  govern- 
ment officers  keep  themselves  informed  of  their 
movements  and  doings.  They  want  to  be  left  alone 
and  allowed  to  do  their  work  quietly  and  unostenta- 
tiously, but  the  Government  will  not  leave  them 
alone  and  suspects  them  of  deep  designs  and  secret 
propaganda. 

The  Moderates.  (5)  We  now  come  to  the  mod- 
erates. There  are  some  who  would  not  advocate  the 
use  of  the  bomb  or  the  revolver,  but  who  do  not  de- 
sire the  total  disappearance  of  the  extremist  party; 
and  the  occasional  use  of  the  bomb  and  the  revolver 
gives  a  point  to  their  organisation  which  they 
would  not  lose.  Lacking  the  intelligent  support  of 
the  masses  in  their  propaganda,  being  too  lazy  to 
court  it  by  legitimate  means,  or  too  self-centred  to 
run  the  risk  involved  therein,  they  are  heartily  glad 
of  the  existence  of  a  party  in  the  country  which  has 
raised  their  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  British  public.  Of  course  they  do  not 
say  so  and  their  abhorrence  and  detestation  of  the 
bomb  and  the  revolver  is  quite  genuine,  yet  they 
would  be  very  sorry  if  the  extremist  party  were  ex- 
tirpated altogether. 

Gokhale.  The  noblest  and  the  best  of  the  Con- 
gress type  from  the  Nationalist  point  of  view  was 
represented  by  Mr.  Gokhale.  Mr.  Gokhale  loved  his 
country  quite  sincerely  and  lived  and  worked  for  it. 
With  the  exception  of  Dadabhai  Naoroji,  he  was 
the  only  Congressman  of  reputation  and  name  that 


G.  K.  Gok ii  \i.i- 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  217 

lived  for  his  country  only  and  gave  his  all  to  her 
service.  His  life  was  fairly  simple;  his  patriotism 
was  of  the  highest  type;  yet  he  was  not  the  type  of 
man  fitted  to  be  a  hero.  He  had  the  qualities  of 
statesmanship,  but  lacked  those  of  generalship.  He 
objected  to  people  designating  his  policy  as  one  of 
mendicancy,  or  questioning  his  political  ideals.  He 
used  to  remonstrate  and  say  in  the  most  touching 
way :  "  Do  you  think,  my  friend,  we  are  so  devoid 
of  self-respect  and  so  base  as  to  be  happy  at  our 
country  being  under  foreign  domination;  do  you 
think  we  wish  that  it  should  always  remain  under 
foreign  yoke?  No,  you  do  us  great  injustice  if 
you  think  so.  I  would  have  my  country  be  free 
to-day  if  that  were  possible.  But  is  it  possible? 
Can  we  work  on  that  basis?  In  politics  you  must 
consider  what  is  practical  and  what  is  unpractical. 
We  can  in  no  way  bind  the  future  generations. 
Who  are  we  to  bind  them  irrevocably?  We  are 
doing  what  we  in  our  own  times  consider  best  and 
practicable.  We  are  not  beggars  and  our  policy  is 
not  that  of  mendicancy.  We  are  ambassadors  of 
our  people  at  a  foreign  court,  to  watch  and  guard 
the  interests  of  our  country  and  get  as  much  for  her 
as  we  can.  That  is  our  position."  Mr.  Gokhale 
believed  in  the  work  of  consolidation  and  in  the 
work  for  increasing  the  social  efficiency  of  the  peo- 
ple of  India  regardless  of  caste,  creed,  or  colour. 
He  had  a  great  deal  in  common  with  class  number 
(4).  But  he  had  great  faith  in  political  agitation 
on  moderate  lines.  He  was  fully  conscious  of  the 
weakness  of  the  Congress  methods  and  extremely 


218  YOUNG  INDIA 

disliked  the  behaviour  of  some  of  the  leaders.  He 
quite  bemoaned  their  lack  of  enthusiasm,  their  want 
of  self-sacrifice,  their  intolerance,  the  lack  of  spirit 
of  true  comradeship  in  them,  their  self-sufficiency 
and,  last  but  not  least,  their  luxurious  lives.  He 
often  compared  the  type  of  human  material  which 
found  its  way  into  the  Congress  with  those  who 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  extremists.  He  admired 
the  spirit  of  the  latter,  their  devotion  to  the  cause, 
their  asceticism  and  their  selflessness.  He  wished 
he  had  some  of  that  stuff  to  work  for  the  Congress. 
He  admired  Arabinda  and  Har  Dayal.  He  used  to 
say  that  he  could  not  see  very  far  ahead  and  there- 
fore he  preferred  to  work  for  the  immediate  future. 
A  few  days  before  his  departure  from  England  he 
said  to  two  of  his  most  intimate  friends  (husband 
and  wife)  that  India  would  be  free  in  25  years. 
What  he  meant  by  freedom  we  do  not  know. 
Probably  he  meant  "  as  free  as  the  self -governed 
colonies."  Of  late  he  was  losing  faith  in  English 
liberalism.  He  noticed  the  lack  of  great  minds 
among  the  liberals,  but  he  said  they  were  the  only 
people  with  whom  we  could  work.  His  experiences 
on  the  Royal  Commission  for  Public  Services  sad- 
dened the  last  days  of  his  life.  He  could  not  bear 
the  insults  that  witness  after  witness  (from  among 
the  Anglo-Indians)  heaped  on  his  countrymen,  their 
character,  their  honesty,  and  their  capacity.  He 
objected  to  the  extremists  calling  themselves  na- 
tionalists to  the  exclusion  of  the  people  of  his  ways 
of  thinking.  He  said  we  were  all  nationalists.  He 
was  by  far  the  noblest  of  the  moderates.     There  is 


TYPES  OF  NATIONALISTS  219 

no  one  who  is  even  half  so  good  and  noble  as  he 
was. 

Congress  Leaders.  A  great  many  Congress  lead- 
ers are  true  patriots,  but  they  have  such  an  abnormal 
love  of  peace  and  luxury,  that  they  can  not  even 
think  of  methods  which  might  even  remotely  result 
in  disturbances  of  peace,  in  riots,  and  in  disasters. 
Hence  their  detestation  of  the  extremist  methods 
and  their  distrust  of  carrying  on  a  propaganda 
among  the  masses.  They  would  proceed  very,  very 
slowly.  Of  course,  there  are  some  among  them 
who  are  cowards,  some  who  are  self-seekers,  who 
hanker  after  judgeships,  memberships,  knighthoods, 
and  so  on,  but  we  do  not  count  them  as  nationalists, 
and  history  knows  of  no  political  party  which  was 
absolutely  free  from  such  weaknesses.  There  are 
some  among  the  Congressmen  who  are  moderates 
by  profession,  but  extremists  in  their  ways  of  think- 
ing, lacking  the  courage  of  identifying  themselves 
with  the  latter;  just  as  there  are  some  who  are  Con- 
gressmen in  name,  but  are  really  out  and  out  loyal- 
ists seeking  opportunities  of  advancing  their  own 
interests.  Then  there  are  some  who  favour  con- 
stitutional agitation,  but  want  to  make  the  Congress 
more  self-assertive  and  self-sufficient.  They  would 
pass  resolutions  on  current  topics  but  would  have  no 
petitioning  or  praying  or  memorialising. 

Passive  Resisters.  There  are  others  who  would 
go  even  farther  and  inaugurate  a  campaign  of 
passive  resistance  and  boycott.  The  Congress  thus 
claims  as  many  types  of  nationalists  as  the  extrem- 
ists.    The  Passive  Resisters  are  likely  to  come  to 


220  YOUNG  INDIA 

the  front  if  Mr.  Gandhi,  the  great  Hindu  Passive 
Resister,  undertakes  to  organise  them. 

For  obvious  reasons  we  can  not  classify  the  living 
Indian  Nationalists  in  India  by  name. 


CHAPTER  VI 

INDIAN    NATIONALISM   AND  THE   WORLD-FORCES 

Inspiration  through  European  Nationalism. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Indian  nationalism  is  re- 
ceiving a  great  deal  of  support  from  the  world- 
forces  operating  outside  of  India.  On  the  political 
side  it  has  been  inspired  and  strengthened  by  the 
forces  of  European  nationalism  —  the  struggles  and 
successes  of  the  English  proletariat,  the  sufferings 
and  the  eventual  triumph  of  the  French  revolution- 
ists, the  efforts  and  victories  of  the  Italians,  the  con- 
tinued struggle  of  Russians,  Poles,  Finns,  Hun- 
garians, and  others.  The  Indian  nationalist  is  an 
ardent  student  of  the  history  of  Modern  Europe, 
of  England,  France,  Germany,  Netherlands,  Italy, 
Russia,  Austria,  and  last  but  not  least,  of  Turkey 
and  the  Balkan  States.  The  Nationalist  Calendar 
of  great  men  followed  by  young  India  contains  such 
names  as  those  of  Washington,  Cavour,  Mazzini, 
Bismarck,  Kossuth,  Emmet,  Parnell,  by  the  side  of 
Partap,  Ram  Das,  Guru  Govind  Singh,  Sivaji,  Tipu 
Sultan,  and  the  Rani  of  Jhansi. 

History  of  Modern  Europe  tabooed  in  Universi- 
ties. The  Indian  Government  is  conscious  of  this, 
and  some  people  think  this  is  what  is  influencing  the 

221 


222  YOUNG  INDIA 

policy  of  the  Indian  universities  in  tabooing  the  his- 
tory of  Modern  Europe  from  the  courses  of  studies. 

American  literature  and  American  events  are  also 
playing  their  own  part  in  the  influences  that  are 
feeding  Indian  nationalism.  The  leaders  are  and 
have  ever  been  close  students  of  American  literature 
and  the  history  of  the  American  Federation.  Asia, 
however,  is  playing  a  greater  part  in  moulding  and 
influencing  Indian  nationalism.  The  Russo-Japa- 
nese War  thrilled  India  to  its  core.  The  recognition 
of  Japan  as  a  great  power  by  the  Concert  of  Europe 
is  regarded  by  Young  India  as  the  potent  factor  in 
Indian  Nationalism.  An  awakening  current  passed 
through  the  country  electrifying  the  most  inert,  in- 
articulate and  otherwise  unapproachable  sections  of 
the  populations.  Then  came  the  events  in  Turkey, 
in  Russia,  and  in  China. 

Italian-Turko  War.  Turkey's  war  with  Italy, 
followed  by  her  struggle  with  the  Balkan  States,  has 
done  wonders  in  nationalising  the  Indian  Moham- 
medans. At  the  present  moment  the  Moham- 
medans perhaps  feel  even  more  intensely  than  the 
Hindus. 

Indian  patriots  travelling  abroad  study  the  cur- 
rent problems  of  the  various  countries  through 
which  they  pass,  and  note  their  bearing  on  their  own 
national  problems.  But  what  is  most  important  is, 
that  they  seek  and  get  opportunities  of  meeting  and 
conversing  with  the  nationalists  of  other  countries. 
Some  of  them  are  in  close  touch  with  the  Egyptian 
and  Irish  nationalists,  others  with  Persians,  and  so 
on.     Indian  nationalism  is  thus  entering  on  an  in- 


NATIONALISM  AND  WORLD-FORCES    223 

ternational  phase  which  is  bound  to  strengthen  it 
and  bring  it  into  the  arena  of  world  forces. 

Interpretation  of  India  to  Western  World.  In- 
dian thought,  Indian  history,  and  Indian  culture  are 
receiving  a  great  deal  more  attention  now  than  they 
ever  did  before.  There  is  hardly  an  important  con- 
tribution to  the  thought  of  the  world  which  does  not 
notice  and  consider  the  Indian  view  of  the  matter 
under  discussion.  But  India  is  seen  by  the  world 
only  through  Western  spectacles.  Some  Indians 
are  doing  valuable  work  in  interpreting  India  to 
the  Western  world,  and  their  work  is  attracting  no- 
tice; but  a  great  deal  yet  remains  to  be  done  and 
Indian  scholars  should  make  it  an  item  of  their  pro- 
gramme to  open  India  and  Indian  thought  to  the 
outsiders  and  thus  bring  India  into  the  vortex  of 
world  forces. 

Tagorism.  While  Rabindra  Nath  Tagore  is  to 
some  degree  losing  in  the  estimation  and  affection 
of  his  own  countrymen  by  somewhat  sacrificing  na- 
tionalism to  art,  he  is  gaining  in  world  reputation. 
Tagorism  is  becoming  a  cult  and  he  is  at  the  present 
moment  perhaps  the  most  popular  and  most  widely 
read  and  widely  admired  literary  man  in  the  world. 
It  was  a  mere  chance  that  his  work  attracted  the 
notice  of  the  trustees  of  the  Nobel  prize  trust.  He 
himself  did  nothing  to  attract  their  notice. 

The  Indian  publicist  has  so  far  lived  in  a  world 
of  his  own.  He  has  ignored  or  paid  very  scanty 
attention  to  the  forces  operating  in  the  world  for 
progress,  for  liberty,  and  for  advance  in  democratic 
ways.     The  leaders  of  the  National  Congress  have 


224  YOUNG  INDIA 

never  tried  to  enlist  sympathy  for  their  cause  any- 
where outside  England.  They  have  never  realised 
the  value  of  the  world  forces  and  the  great  sensi- 
tiveness of  the  English  as  to  what  the  world  thinks 
and  says  of  them. 

The  Indian  Nationalist  would  do  well  to  note 
this.  He  should  begin  to  think  and  act  interna- 
tionally. It  is  impossible  to  separate  India  alto- 
gether from  the  rest  of  the  world,  however  the 
British  might  try  and  whatever  they  might  do.  For 
her  sons  to  try  to  do  that  is  to  strengthen  their 
chains  and  add  to  the  weight  which  is  crushing  their 
country.  Nothing  could  be  more  suicidal  or  more 
short-sighted. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE   RELIGIOUS   AND  THE   COMMUNAL   ELEMENTS 
IN   INDIAN    NATIONALISM 

For  a  time  the  Mohammedan  minority  was  the 
hope  of  the  British  Government  in  India.  As  far 
back  as  1888,  Lord  Dufferin *  and  Sir  Auckland 
Colvin  had  successfully  appealed  to  their  fears,  and 
won  them  over  by  promises  of  preferential  treat- 
ment. That  policy  has  been  consistently  followed 
since  then,  and  so  far  has  been  a  great  success.  The 
bulk  of  the  educated  Mohammedans  has  opposed  the 
Congress,  in  order  to  please  the  Government  and 
win  their  gratitude;  they  also  opposed  the  Swadeshi 
Movement,  although  the  success  of  the  Swadeshi 
was  likely  to  benefit  them  very  materially,  since  the 
handloom  industry  was  principally  in  their  hands. 
In  return,  they  received  substantial  benefits  in  the 
shape  of  large  grants  of  money  for  educational  pur- 
poses, a  larger  percentage  of  posts  in  government 
service,  a  larger  number  of  titles  and  honours,  a 
separate  and  larger  representation  in  the  councils, 
and  so  on.  Lord  Morley  confirmed  this  policy  of 
preference  by  making  it  a  special  feature  of  his  Re- 

1  Lord  Dufferin  was  the  Governor  General  of  India  and  Sir 
A.  Colvin  was  the  Lieutenant  Governor  of  what  were  then  the 
Northwestern  Provinces,  now  the  United  Provinces  of  Agra 
and  Oudh. 

225 


226  YOUNG  INDIA 

form  scheme  in  1908.  So  the  Mohammedans  were 
in  very  high  spirits  in  1908.  The  Nationalist  party 
in  Bengal  had  a  large  number  of  friends  and  sym- 
pathisers among  the  Mohammedans,  but  as  com- 
pared with  the  Separatist  party,  their  number  was 
very  small  and  meagre.  In  its  inception  and  for 
some  time  thereafter  the  Nationalist  movement  in 
India  was  thus  a  pre-eminently  Hindu  movement. 

Mohammedan  Revulsion  of  Feeling  against  the 
British.  The  world  events  of  the  last  four  years, 
however,  have  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs 
in  India.  The  events  in  Turkey,  in  Tripoli,  in 
Egypt  and  in  Persia  have  affected  the  Moham- 
medans deeply  and  have  brought  about  a  revulsion 
of  feeling  against  the  British.  The  Muslims  are 
a  virile  and  proud  people.  The  attitude  of  Britain 
towards  Turkey  has  offended  their  deepest  suscepti- 
bilities and  they  have  begun  to  think  that  the  British 
in  India  wanted  to  bribe  them  into  silent  acqui- 
escence in  what  was  happening  to  the  Muslim  people 
in  the  other  parts  of  the  globe.  For  the  last  four 
years  the  Muslim  press  has  been  carrying  on  a 
strong,  vigorous  pan-Islamic  propaganda.  The  Mo- 
hammedan classes  as  well  as  masses  are  full  of  veiled 
and  subdued  hatred  of  the  British.  Sometimes  this 
finds  expression  on  the  platform,  in  the  press,  and 
in  permanent  literature  also.  In  the  last  Balkan 
war  and  during  Turkey's  conflict  with  Italy  about 
Tripoli,  the  Mohammedan  mosques  rang  with  loud 
prayers  for  the  victory  of  Turkey,  and  with  strong 
and  open  denunciation  of  their  Christian  enemies. 
There  is  a  perceptible  and  clear  change  in  the  po- 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENTS        227 

litical  pronouncements  of  the  Muslim  League,2  but 
the  political  influence  of  the  Muslim  League  among 
the  people  was,  so  far,  little  as  compared  with  the 
influence  of  the  Pan-Islamic  party.  This  Pan- 
Islamic  party  is  the  extreme  wing  of  the  Moham- 
medan Nationalists. 

The  number  of  forfeitures  of  the  Moslem  papers 
and  publications  under  the  Press  Act,  the  nature  of 
those  publications  and  the  continued  support  given 
to  the  papers  that  have  been  more  than  once  for- 
feited and  punished  by  the  Government,  the  change 
in  the  tone  of  the  Moslem  papers  in  their  comments 
on  government  measures,  and  the  newly  born  en- 
tente between  the  Hindus  and  Mohammedans,  of 
which  there  is  unmistakable  proof  in  the  press  as 
well  as  in  actual  life,  all  point  in  the  same  direction. 
There  is  every  chance  of  the  Hindu  extremists  and 
Muslim  extremists  making  an  alliance  and  joining 
hands,  while  even  the  Mohammedan  moderates  are 
coming  nearer  the  Hindu  moderates.3  The  former 
may  not  actually  join  the  Congress  in  large  numbers, 
but  they  are  thinking  and  acting  the  same  way.  The 
Mohammedan  moderates  are  wiser  than  the  Hindu 
moderates.  They  use  their  extreme  party  as  a 
trump  card  in  their  negotiations  with  the  Govern- 
ment more  effectively  than  the  Hindus  do  or  have 
ever  done.  The  Mohammedan  extremist  receives 
more  substantial  support  and  sympathy  from  his 
moderate  co-religionist  than  the  Hindu  extremist 
does    from   the   Hindu   moderates.     The    Moham- 

2  The  organisation  of  the  Pro-British  Muslims. 

3  See  the  Introduction. 


228  YOUNG  INDIA 

medan  moderate  is  more  outspoken  in  his  criticism 
of  government  measures  that  injuriously  affect  the 
Mohammedans;  he  is  less  lavish  in  his  praises  of  the 
British  Raj;  he  is  a  more  skilful  negotiator  and  a 
decidedly  better  and  more  successful  diplomat. 

The  educated  Mohammedans,  outside  India,  are 
almost  to  a  man  identified  with  Indian  Nationalism. 
So  the  Indian  Mohammedan's  changed  sentiments 
towards  the  British  are  likely  to  be  a  source  of  great 
strength  to  the  national  cause  and  make  the  situa- 
tion more  hopeful  from  the  point  of  view  of  Indian 
Nationalism. 

Disaffection  among  the  Sikhs.  But  the  Moham- 
medans were  not  the  only  people  whom  the  British- 
ers had  succeeded  in  keeping  aloof  from  the  Hindu 
Nationalists.  The  Sikhs  had  also  so  far  kept  aloof. 
The  treatment  of  the  Sikhs  in  Canada,  the  Komagata 
Maru  4  incident  and  the  influence  of  Har  Dayal  and 
the  Gadar  party  on  the  Pacific  Coast  of  America 
formed  by  him,  have  affected  a  great  change  of  feel- 
ing among  the  Sikhs  also.  The  Government  may 
try  to  win  them  back  by  making  concessions  and 
conferring  preferments,  but  a  move  like  the  one 
recently  made  in  giving  Mr.  K.  G.  Gupta's  seat  on 
the  Secretary  of  State's  Council  in  London  to  Sir- 
dar Daljit  Singh,  a  Sikh  nobleman,  is  likely  to  make 
them  look  even  more  ridiculous  than  before.     The 

4  Komagata  Maru  is  the  name  of  a  Japanese  steamer,  which 
a  number  of  Sikh  emigrants  chartered  in  Hong  Kong  in 
1914  A.  D.  in  order  to  take  them  to  Canada.  They  were  not 
allowed  to  land  and  were  forced  to  return  to  India,  under 
circumstances  which  have  created  a  bitter  anti-British  feel- 
ing among  the  Indians  all  over  the  world. 


THE  RELIGIOUS  ELEMENTS        229 

Britisher's  lack  of  imagination  is  colossal,  but  we 
did  not  know  that  the  war  was  likely  to  affect  even 
his  sense  of  humour. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE   FUTURE 

It  is  both  difficult  and  risky  to  predict,  especially 
concerning  a  country  situated  as  India  is  to-day. 
It  is  always  the  unexpected  that  happens  in  human 
affairs.  This  is  particularly  true  where  human  af- 
fairs are  so  complicated  and  complex  as  in  India. 
It  is  perhaps  easier  to  predict  the  future  of  America 
or  England,  than  that  of  India.  The  Indian  nation- 
alists of  the  nineties,  or  even  of  the  early  days  of 
the  new  century,  could  hardly  have  imagined  the 
developments  of  the  last  fifteen  years.  It  is  true 
that  India  is  rather  immobile;  its  masses  are  rather 
inert;  and  perhaps  of  all  peoples  the  least  affected 
by  changes  in  the  outside  world.  They  have  been 
under  the  benumbing  influence  of  a  philosophy  of 
life  which  keeps  them  contented  even  under  adverse 
circumstances,  even  when  they  are  starving  and 
have  no  clothes  to  hide  their  nakedness. 

Change  in  Indian  Life  and  Depth  of  Nationalism. 
But  this  is  only  partially  true  of  modern  India. 
There  is  a  great  deal  of  exaggeration  about  the  im- 
mobility of  Indian  people.  There  may  be  millions 
in  India  who  are  as  unaffected  by  modern  conditions 
of  life  and  modern  ideas  as  they  were  fifty  years 
ago,   but  then  there  are  millions  who  have   con- 

230 


THE  FUTURE  231 

sciously  awakened.     Their  strength   is  not  to  be 
judged  by  the  attendance  at  Congresses  and  confer- 
ences or  other  public  meetings  or  demonstrations, 
nor   by   the   circulation   of   newspapers    or   books. 
Popular    demonstrations    organised    in   honour    of 
popular  leaders,  and  the  increase  in  the  circulation 
of  newspapers  give  indications  of  a  great  change  in 
Indian  life,  but  the  actual  change  is  even  much 
greater.     Read   the  poetry  of   the   country  or   its 
prose,  read  the  rough  versifyings  of  the  half-edu- 
cated or  even  uneducated  men  and  women  (includ- 
ing some  who  are  even  illiterate),  listen  to  the  talk 
in  the  village  park  or   square   or  other  meeting 
places,  see  the  games  which  the  children  of  rustics 
and  the  poorest  classes  play,  attend  to  the  patterings 
of  children,  examine  the  popular  songs  or  the  music 
that  is  now  in  demand,  then  you  will  see  how  deeply 
nationalism  has  pervaded  Indian  life  and  what  a 
strong  hold  it  has  gained  in  the  thoughts  of  the 
people.     No  foreigner  can  realise  that ;  only  an  In- 
dian can  properly  understand  it.     Examine  the  ver- 
nacular press  —  the  most  sober  and  the  most  loyal 
papers,  and  underlying  the  expressions  of  deepest 
loyalty,  you  would  assuredly  come  across  genuine 
tears  of  blood,  shed  for  the  misfortune  of  the  coun- 
try, its  decline,  its  present  wretched  and  miserable 
condition.     From  the  Indian  press  we  hear  a  never- 
ceasing  lamentation.     Listen  to  the  utterances  of 
the  most  wanton  chief,  and  the  most  callous  million- 
aire, bring  him  out  from  his  isolation  or  retirement, 
put  him  on  the  public  platform,  and  you  will  notice 
a  vein  of  nationalism  in  his  thoughts  and  in  his 


232  YOUNG  INDIA 

words.  But  if  you  can  know  what  he  talks  in  pri- 
vate to  friends  from  whom  he  keeps  no  secrets,  you 
will  see  and  notice  a  great  deal  more.  The  writer 
has  not  so  far  met  a  single  Indian  of  any  class  — 
he  has  met  Indians  of  all  classes  and  of  all  shades  of 
opinions,  educated,  uneducated,  prince  and  peasant, 
moderate  and  extremist,  loyalist  and  seditionist, — 
who  was  genuinely  sorry  at  the  outbreak  of  this  war. 
A  number  of  Indians  are  fighting  at  the  front. 
They  are  sincerely  loyal  and  true  to  their  oath  of 
allegiance.  They  would  leave  nothing  undone  to 
win,  but  in  their  heart  of  hearts  lurks  something 
which  in  moments  of  reflection  or  when  they  are  off 
duty,  reminds  them  of  the  wrongs  which  they  and 
their  countrymen  are  suffering  at  the  hands  of  Eng- 
land. Nationalism  is  no  longer  confined  to  the 
classes.  It  promises  to  become  a  universal  cult. 
It  is  permeating  the  masses.  Only  those  Indians 
realise  it  who  mix  with  the  people  and  do  not 
derive  their  knowledge  from  works  written  by 
Englishmen  or  by  other  arm-chair  politicians.  No 
foreigner,  however  kind  and  sympathetic,  however 
great  his  knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  country, 
can  ever  realise  it  fully.  Even  the  dancing  girls  are 
affected  by  it.  They  will  sing  political  or  national 
songs  if  you  so  wish.  Even  the  wandering  minstrel 
with  his  rude,  one-stringed  instrument,  knows  the 
song  that  is  likely  to  bring  him  help. 

Nationalism  Fertilised  by  Blood  of  Martyrs.  No 
amount  of  repression  or  espionage  can  stop  it.  No 
amount  of  official  terrorism  and  no  devices,  invented 
or  followed  to  inculcate  loyalty,  can  stop  or  check 


THE  FUTURE  233 

the  flow  of  the  new  feeling  of  patriotism  and  na- 
tionalism which  is  being  constantly  fed  by  the  sen- 
tences of  death  and  transportation  that  the  British 
courts  are  passing  on  beardless  youths.  The  Gov- 
ernment can  not  help  it.  They  must  punish  the  of- 
fender and  the  criminal.  They  must  hunt  up  the 
seditionist.  They  would  not  be  a  government  if 
they  would  do  otherwise,  but  India  is  now  in  that 
stage  and  Indian  nationalism  is  in  that  condition 
when  repression,  death  sentences,  and  imprisonments 
are  more  beneficial  to  it  than  otherwise.  The  more 
it  is  repressed  and  suppressed,  the  more  this  spirit 
grows  and  spreads.  It  is  a  seed  that  is  richly  ferti- 
lised by  the  blood  of  martyrs.  The  people  do  not 
argue,  they  do  not  reason,  they  do  not  analyse ;  they 
feel  that  good,  well-connected,  healthy,  beautiful 
boys  are  dying  in  the  country's  cause  and  to  get  a 
redress  of  the  country's  wrongs.  When  a  bomb  is 
thrown,  the  people  genuinely  condemn  the  bomb 
thrower,  are  sincere  in  their  detestation,  but  when 
he  is  hanged  or  transported,  they  are  sorry  for  him. 
Their  original  abhorrence  changes  into  sympathy 
and  then  into  love.  They  are  martyrs  of  the  na- 
tional cause.  They  may  be  misguided,  even  mad, 
but  they  are  martyrs  all  the  same.  The  moralist 
and  the  legalist  and  the  loyalist  and  the  constitu- 
tionalist, all  condemn  their  deeds,  but  the  doers 
themselves,  they  adore,  and  their  names  they  en- 
shrine in  their  hearts. 

Wave  of  Indian  Nationalism  is  on.  Such  is 
human  psychology,  and  such  is  the  psychology  of 
nations  in  the  making.     The  Indian  mind  has  en- 


234  YOUNG  INDIA 

tered  on  that  phase.  No  amount  of  sweet  speeches 
by  the  Viceroy  or  by  the  Lieutenant  Governors  or 
by  the  commissioners  or  deputy  commissioners,  no 
amount  of  honours  and  titles  or  rewards  to  indi- 
viduals, no  amount  of  preferment  of  one  community 
as  against  another,  no  amount  of  canal-making  or 
railway-developing,  can  change  the  tide  that  has 
begun  to  flow,  or  retard  the  sweep,  much  less  turn 
it  to  ebb. 

Propitiation  and  Petty  Concessions  Futile.  This 
is  the  supreme  fact  of  Indian  life  which  every  one 
who  has  anything  to  do  with  India,  official  or  non- 
official,  statesman  or  layman,  politician  or  publicist, 
must  recognise  and  face.  Nations  and  individuals, 
filled  with  their  own  importance,  drunk  with  power 
and  resources,  accustomed  to  mould  things  and 
forces  in  their  own  way,  determined  to  keep  what 
they  have  got,  may  not  see  things  which  are  unpleas- 
ant to  look  at  or  to  think  about.  But  facts  are  facts 
and  do  not  wait  for  their  action  on  the  pleasure  of 
those  who  do  not  like  them.  Canute-like  they  may 
command  the  waves,  but  the  waves  will  not  listen  to 
them.  The  wave  of  Indian  nationalism  is  on  and 
no  amount  of  tinkering  with  Indian  administration, 
or  sweet  phrases,  or  promises  can  check  it.  "  We 
are  the  subjects  of  the  same  sovereign,"  "  citizens  of 
the  same  empire,"  "  brothers  in  arms,"  "  comrades," 
and  so  on, —  these  are  kind  words  spoken  by  people 
who  perhaps  mean  well.  But  in  the  light  of  past  ex- 
perience they  do  not  carry  much  weight;  they  may 
befool  some  soft-hearted  people,  but  they  would  not 
affect  the  general  mind  of  the  nation  so  long  as  they 


THE  FUTURE  235 

remain  unaccompanied  by  deeds.  An  Executive 
Council  for  the  United  Provinces,  a  High  Court  for 
the  Punjab,  a  High  Court  and  a  University  for 
Behar,  a  Charter  to  the  Hindu  University,  liberal 
grants  to  Islamic  schools  and  colleges,  may  please 
some  barristers  and  pleaders,  but  they  will  not  sat- 
isfy the  nation,  so  long  as  the  Arms  Act  is  on  the 
statute  book,  so  long  as  the  Indian  Councils  are  a 
farce,  so  long  as  the  fiscal  policy  is  laid  down  in 
the  interests  of  Lancashire,  and  so  long  as  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  Indian  boys  fail  to  earn  a  decent 
living,  while  the  country  is  being  ruled  and  ex- 
ploited by  the  few  fortunate  foreigners.  Indians 
want  to  go  to  Canada,  to  South  Africa,  to  the  United 
States  of  America,  because  the  wages  to  be  earned 
in  India  are  so  low,  because  the  life  at  home  is  so 
miserable,  so  helpless  and  so  hard  and  so  humiliat- 
ing. Even  abroad  the  Indian  is  kicked  and  insulted 
at  almost  every  step,  but  then  that  is  more  easily 
borne  than  the  kicks  and  insults  of  Englishmen  in 
India. 

Internal  Division  no  Valid  Plea.  India  has  and 
can  produce  enough  to  feed  her  own  children,1  nay 
to  spare,  provided  she  were  free  to  make  her  own 
laws,  spend  her  own  revenues,  and  protect  her  in- 
dustries. Those  who  plead  that  Indians  are  too 
hopelessly  divided  into  religions,  communities,  sects, 
castes,  and  languages,  to  be  able  to  form  a  govern- 
ment of  their  own,  forget  that  the  English  have  been 
in  India  only  for  the  last  century  and  a  half  and  that 

1  During  her  most  dreadful  famines  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  tons  of  foodstuffs  were  shipped  out  of  India. 


236  YOUNG  INDIA 

before  that  India  governed  herself.  The  India  of 
to-day  is  in  no  way  happier  than  it  was  before  pre- 
British  days.  The  India  of  Akbar  was  happier  than 
the  England  of  Elizabeth  and  even  more  prosperous. 
The  India  of  Asoka  was  infinitely  happier  and  more 
prosperous  than  the  England  of  Alfred  the  Great. 
The  India  of  Aurangzeb  may  perhaps  have  been 
miserable,  but  surely  not  more  miserable  than  the 
England  of  Henry  VIII,  or  the  England  of  James  I, 
or  the  Scotland  of  Mary,  or  the  Ireland  of  Crom- 
well, or  the  France  of  Henry  IV,  or  the  Holland  of 
Philip.  We  have  the  testimony  of  English  his- 
torians and  observers  that  subjects  of  the  East  In- 
dia Company  were  in  no  way  happier  or  more  pros- 
perous than  when  they  were  under  Native  rule,2  and 
the  subjects  of  Native  States  in  India  governed  by 
Natives  are  on  the  whole  in  no  way  worse  off  than 
British  subjects  under  the  direct  rule  of  the  British. 
Look  at  the  United  States,  how  the  varied  races, 
sects,  religions,  and  communities  have  merged  their 
differences  and  live  under  one  national  government ; 
look  at  the  number  of  languages  spoken  in  the 
United  States  —  in  their  schools  and  in  their  fac- 
tories. Look  at  Switzerland,  what  a  tiny  little 
country  it  is!  How  many  languages  are  spoken 
and  taught  in  its  schools  and  how  many  languages 
are  spoken  and  used  in  its  councils,  and  how  many 
religions  are  professed  by  the  people  of  the  country ! 

2  See  Mill's  History  of  British  India,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  149,  150, 
Vol.  VII,  p.  388,  and  p.  393,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  207,  209.  See  Bishop 
Heber's  description  of  India  in  T824  quoted  in  Mill  and  Wil- 
son's History  of  India,  Vol.  IX,  p.  376.  Also  that  of  Mr. 
Shore  in  1833. 


THE  FUTURE  237 

The  same  remarks  may  be  made  about  the  dual 
monarchy  of  Austria-Hungary,  where  the  form  of 
government  is  largely  representative  in  spite  of  the 
diversity  of  races,  sects  and  languages. 

The  number  of  religions,  sects  and  languages  in 
India  has  been  grossly  exaggerated.  With  every 
census  the  number  goes  up  by  hundreds,  though  the 
country  and  the  people  are  the  same. 

Illiteracy  the  Fault  of  the  British  and  no  Bar  to 
Self-government.  Again  it  is  sometimes  said  that 
India  cannot  be  self-ruling  because  of  its  illiteracy. 
This  argument  does  not  come  with  good  grace  from 
the  Britishers  because  it  is  they  who  are  responsible 
for  the  appalling  illiteracy  of  the  Indian  population. 
In  Japan,  where  the  work  of  education  was  begun 
late  in  the  last  century,  28  per  cent,  of  the  children 
of  school  age  were  at  school  in  1873 ;  by  1902- 1903 
the  percentage  had  risen  to  90.  In  India,  after  150 
years  of  British  rule,  the  percentage  is  19.6.  The 
Indian  Nationalists  have  for  a  number  of  years 
been  asking  for  compulsory  universal  education, 
but  the  Government  would  not  listen.  The  late 
Mr.  Gokhale's  Compulsory  Elementary  Education 
Bill  was  strongly  opposed  by  the  Government  and 
thrown  out.  But  what  is  even  worse  is  that  the 
Government  would  not  let  the  people  open  their  own 
schools  and  colleges  because  of  the  unreasonably 
high  standard  set  up  by  the  Department  for  their 
recognition  as  public  schools. 

However,  universal  literacy  of  the  people  is  not 
an  indispensable  pre-requisite  of  self-rule.  In 
Japan,  where  50  years  ago  representative  govern- 


238  YOUNG  INDIA 

ment  was  set  up,  only  the  Samurai  were  literate. 
In  India,  too,  the  higher  classes  are  educated  to  a 
considerable  extent. 

England  has  enjoyed  parliamentary  government 
for  centuries,  but  universal  education  was  only  in- 
troduced in  1870. 

Internal  Troubles.  As  for  internal  troubles  fol- 
lowing the  withdrawal  of  the  British  or  the  grant 
of  self-government  we  ask,  "  Is  there  any  country 
on  the  face  of  the  earth  which  is  free  from  internal 
troubles?"  Even  Great  Britain  is  not;  much  less 
are  the  self-governing  colonies.  Yet  nobody  ques- 
tions their  right  to  govern  themselves.  Only  the 
other  day  President  Wilson  considered  the  existence 
of  internal  disorder  in  Mexico  to  be  no  justification 
for  the  United  States  interfering  in  its  affairs. 

Unfitness  of  Orientals  for  Representative  Insti- 
tutions. As  for  the  unfitness  of  Orientals  for 
democratic  institutions,  why  the  ancient  history  of 
India  refutes  it  almost  conclusively.  India  was  the 
home  of  democratic  institutions  long  before  Eng- 
land and  France  had  any  notion  of  what  democracy 
implied.  But  if  any  further  proof  of  the  absurdity 
of  this  plea  was  needed  that  has  been  furnished  by 
Japan. 

Nationalism  has  come  to  Stay.  Let  England  try 
an  experiment  by  repealing  the  Arms  Act  and  giv- 
ing a  parliamentary  government  to  India  and  see 
if  these  considerations  effectively  stand  in  the  way 
of  progress.  Be  that  as  it  may,  however,  one  thing 
seems  to  be  assured  and  certain,  that  Indian  nation- 


THE  FUTURE  239 

alism  can  neither  be  killed  nor  suppressed  by  repres- 
sion, nor  by  minor  concessions.  Nationalism  has 
come  to  stay  and  will  stay.  What  will  be  the  up- 
shot is  only  known  to  the  Gods.  England  may  win 
or  lose  in  the  great  war  in  which  she  is  engaged. 
Indian  nationalism  will  gain  in  either  case.  We 
need  not  consider  how  India  will  fare  if  England 
loses.  She  may  come  under  Mohammedan  domi- 
nation, or  the  Germans  may  take  possession  of  her; 
the  English  would  be  gone  and  then  India  would 
enter  upon  a  new  life.  India  does  not  want  it.  She 
will  resist  it  with  all  her  strength.  But  if  it 
comes  she  can't  help  it  and  Great  Britain  would  be 
responsible  for  having  brought  it.  In  case,  how- 
ever, England  wins,  as  she  is  likely  to,  the  Indian 
nationalism  will  still  gain.  There  will  be  a  de- 
mand for  political  advance,  for  a  change  in  the 
political  status  of  the  country  and  in  its  relations 
towards  England  and  her  colonies.  From  what  we 
know  of  English  temper,  of  English  political  ma- 
chinery, of  English  political  methods,  of  English 
ways  and  of  English  history,  that  demand  is  sure  to 
be  refused. '  Some  minor,  petty  concessions  may  be 
made,  but  they  would  be  disproportionate  to  the 
sacrifices  of  men  and  money  that  India  is  making  in 
the  war.  They  will  not  satisfy  the  country.  Dis- 
affection and  discontent  will  grow  and  that  is  the 
kind  of  food  on  which  nationalism  thrives  and  pros- 
pers. So  long  as  there  are  Curzons,  Macdonnels. 
and  Sydenhams  in  the  English  Parliament.  Indian 
nationalism  will  not  starve  for  want  of  congenial 


240  YOUNG  INDIA 

food.  And  we  have  no  reason  to  think  that  these 
dignitaries  of  the  British  Government  are  likely  to 
disappear. 

Curzons,  Macdonnels,  Sydenhams,  responsible 
for  Bombs  and  Revolvers.  These  persons  are  di- 
rectly responsible  for  the  appearance  of  bombs  and 
revolvers  in  Indian  political  life.  The  young  men 
who  use  them  are  mere  tools  of  circumstances.  If 
any  persons  deserve  to  be  hanged  for  the  use  of 
these  destructive  machines  by  Indian  nationalists,  it 
is  they.  It  is  a  pity  that  while  the  latter  are  dying 
by  tens  on  the  scaffold,  the  former  should  be  free  to 
carry  on  their  propaganda  of  racial  discrimination, 
racial  hatred,  and  social  preferment.  But  the  ways 
of  Providence  are  inscrutable.  It  is  perhaps  some 
higher  dispensation  that  is  using  these  miserable 
Junkers  for  its  own  purposes.  Indians  have  faith 
in  Providence  and  they  believe  that  what  is  happen- 
ing is  for  the  best.  The  Indians  are  a  chivalrous 
people;  they  will  not  disturb  England  as  long  as 
she  is  engaged  with  Germany.  The  struggle  after 
the  war  might,  however,  be  even  more  bitter  and 
more  sustained. 


A  SHORT  BIBLIOGRAPHY  OF  BOOKS  IN 
ENGLISH 

Books  by  Englishmen 

"  New  Spirit  in  India  "  by  H.  W.  Nevinson. 

"  The  Awakening  in  India "  by  J.   Ramsay  MacDonald, 

M.P. 
"  India,  Impressions  and  Suggestions  "  by  J.  Keir  Hardie, 

M.P. 
"New  India"  by  Sir  Henry  Cotton  (once  an  M.P.),  late 

of  the  Indian  Civil  Service. 
"  Allen  Octavian  Hume  "  by  Sir  W.  Wedderburn,  late  of 

the  Indian  Civil  Service  (once  an  M.P.). 
"  Prosperous  British  India  "  by  Mr.  William  Digby,  CLE. 
"  India  and  the  Empire  "  by  Mrs.  Annie  Besant. 
"  Indian  Nationalism  "  by  Edwyn  Bevan. 
"Bureaucratic  Government"  by  Bernard  Houghton  (late 

of  the  Indian  Civil  Service). 
"  Lord  Curzon  a  Failure."  by  C.  J.  O'Donnell  (late  of  the 

Indian  Civil  Service). 
"Causes  of  Indian  Discontent"  by  C.  J.  O'Donnell  (late 

of  the  Indian  Civil  Service). 
"  The  Indian  Ryot "  by  Sir  W.  Wedderburn. 
"  The  Skeleton  at  the  Jubilee  Feast "  by  Sir  W.  Wedder- 
burn. 
"  Congress    Green    Books "    (84,    85,    Palace    Chambers, 

Westminster,  London). 


"  The  New  Nationalist  Movement  in  India,"  by  Dr.  J.  T. 
Sunderland. 

"  Indian  Famines  and  Their  Cause  "  by  Dr.  J.  T.  Sunder- 
land, 423  West  120th  Street,  New  York. 
241 


242  YOUNG  INDIA 

Books  by  Indians 

"  Poverty    or    Un-British    Rule    in    India "   by    Dadabhai 

Naoroji. 
"  India  Under  Early  British  Rule  "  by  R.  C.  Dutt,  CLE. 
"  India  in  the  Victorian  Age  "  by  R.  C.  Dutt,  CLE. 
"  Famines  and  Land  Assessment "  by  R.  C  Dutt,  CLE. 
"England  and  India"    (Indian  Progress,  1785-1885)   by 

R.  C  Dutt,  CLE. 
"  The  Civilization  of  India  "  by  R.  C  Dutt,  CLE. 
"  Speeches  of  the  Honourable  Mr.  G.  K.  Gokhale." 
"  The  Swadeshi,  a  Symposium." 
"  Recent  Indian  Finance  "  by  Wacha. 
"  The  National  Evolution  "  by  A.  C  Mazumdar. 
"  The  Indian  National  Congress." 
"  Speeches  of  Sir  P.  M.  Mehta." 
"  The  Story  of  My  Deportation  "  by  Lajpat  Rai. 
"  The  Alipore  [Bomb  Case]  Trial." 

Periodicals 

The  Modern  Review  (monthly).     Calcutta. 
The  Indian  Review  (monthly).     Madras. 
The  Hindustan  Review  (monthly).    Allahabad. 
India   (the  British  Organ  of  the  Indian  National  Con- 
gress, weekly).     London. 


APPENDICES 


EXTRACTS  PROM  SIR  HENRY  COTTON'S 
"NEW   INDIA." 

Feudatory  Chiefs  Powerless.  "  It  would  perhaps  be  un- 
generous to  probe  too  narrowly  the  dependent  position 
and  consequent  involuntary  action  of  the  feudatory  chiefs. 
They  are  powerless  to  protect  themselves.  There  is  no 
judicial  authority  to  which  they  can  appeal.  There  is 
no  public  opinion  to  watch  their  interests.  Technically 
independent  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  Empire,  they 
are  practically  held  in  complete  subjection.  Their  rank 
and  honours  depend  on  the  pleasure  of  a  British  Resi- 
dent at  their  Court,  and  on  the  secret  and  irresponsible 
mandates  of  a  Foreign  Office  at  Simla"   (page  34). 

Gross  Insults  to  Indians.  "  That  intense  Anglo-Saxon 
spirit  of  self-approbation  which  is  unpleasantly  percep- 
tible in  England  itself,  and  is  so  often  offensive  among 
vulgar  Englishmen  on  the  Continent,  very  soon  becomes 
rampant  in  India. 

"  There  are  innumerable  instances  in  which  pedes- 
trians have  been  abused  and  struck  because  they  have 
not  lowered  their  umbrellas  at  the  sight  of  a  sahib  on 
the  highway.  There  are  few  Indian  gentlemen  even  of 
the  highest  rank  who  have  not  had  experience  of  gross 
insults  when  travelling  by  railway,  because  Englishmen 
object  to  sit  in  the  same  carriage  with  a  native"  (pages 
68-69). 


243 


244  APPENDICES 

II 
SOME  OPINIONS  ABOUT  BRITISH  INDIA 

Industrial  Ruin  of  India.  Gokhale.  "  When  we  come 
to  this  question  of  India's  Industrial  domination  by  Eng- 
land, we  come  to  what  may  be  described  as  the  most 
deplorable  result  of  British  rule  in  this  country.  In  other 
matters  there  are  things  on  the  credit  side  and  things 
on  the  debit  side.  .  .  .  But  when  you  come  to  the  in- 
dustrial field,  you  will  find  that  the  results  have  been 
disastrous.  You  find  very  little  here  on  the  credit  side 
and  nearly  all  the  entries  on  the  debit  side.  Now  this  is 
a  serious  statement  to  make,  but  I  think  it  can  be  sub- 
stantiated." 

India  a  Mere  Possession.  Gokhale.  "  India  formed 
the  largest  part  of  the  Empire,  but  was  governed  as  a 
mere  possession  of  the  British  people.  Three  features 
showed  that  it  had  no  part  or  lot  in  the  Empire.  In  the 
first  place,  the  people  were  kept  disarmed ;  it  was 
thought  to  be  dangerous  to  allow  them  to  carry  arms. 
Secondly,  they  had  absolutely  no  voice  in  the  govern- 
ment of  their  own  country;  they  were  expressly  dis- 
qualified from  holding  certain  high  offices,  and  prac- 
tically excluded  from  others.  Lastly,  they  were  not  al- 
lowed a  share  in  the  privileges  of  the  Empire  in  any 
portion  outside  British  India,  except  a  limited  one  in 
the  United  Kingdom  itself." — Mr.  Gokhale. 

Masses  Starved.  Sir  C.  A.  Elliott.  "  I  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  say  that  half  our  agricultural  population  never 
know  from  year's  end  to  year's  end  what  it  is  to  have 
their  hunger  fully  satisfied." — Sir  C.  A.  Elliott,  one- 
time Lieut. -Governor  of   Bengal. 

Sir  W.  W.  Hunter.  In  1880.  "  There  remain  forty 
millions  of  people  who  go  through  life  on  insufficient 
food." —  Sir  W.  W.  Hunter. 

William  Digby.  In  1893.  The  Pioneer  sums  up  Mr. 
Grierson's    facts   regarding   the   various   sections   of   the 


APPENDICES  245 

population  in  Gaya:  "Briefly,  it  is  that  all  the  persons 
of  the  labouring  classes,  and  ten  per  cent,  of  the  culti- 
vating and  artisan  classes,  or  forty-five  per  cent,  of  the 
total  population,  are  insufficiently  clothed,  or  insufficiently 
fed,  or  both.  In  Gaya  district  this  would  give  about  a 
million  persons  without  sufficient  means  of  support.  If 
we  assume  that  the  circumstances  of  Gaya  are  not  ex- 
ceptional,—  and  there  is  no  reason  for  thinking  other- 
wise—  it  follows  that  nearly  one  hundred  millions  of 
people  in  British   India  are  living  in  extreme  poverty." 

In  1901.  "  The  poverty  and  suffering  of  the  people 
are  such  as  to  defy  description.  In  fact,  for  nearly  fifteen 
years  there  has  been  a  continuous  famine  in  India  owing 
to  high  prices." 

70,000,000  Continually  Hungry  People  in  British  India. 
W.  Digby.  "  Since  Sir  William  Hunter's  remarks  were 
made  the  population  has  increased  (or  is  alleged  to  have 
increased)  by  nearly  thirty  millions.  Meanwhile  the  in- 
come of  the  Empire  has  greatly  decreased  during  this 
period.  Wherefore  this  follows:  that  is,  if  with  the 
same  income,  in  1880  forty  millions  were  insufficiently 
fed,  the  additional  millions  cannot  have  had,  cannot  now 
have,   enough   to  eat ;   this,   again,   ensues :  — 

40,000,000  plus,  say,  30,000,000,  make  70,000,000;  and 
there  are  this  number  of  continually  hungry  people  in 
British  India  at  the  beginning  of  the  Twentieth  Century." 
— William  Digby,  C.  I.  E. 

Deaths  from  Famine  from  1891  to  1900  alone:  19,- 
000,000. 

Total  area  under  cultivation.  In  the  year  1911-12,  the 
total  area  under  food  grains  was  over  195  million  acres, 
plus  7.5,  i.  e.   over  202J/2   million  acres. 

In  1912-13,  India  exported  foodstuffs  of  the  value  of 
over  260  million  dollars. 

In  1913-14  she  exported  about  216  million  dollars' 
worth  of  foodstuffs. 

Famines  of  Money,  not  Food.  Lord  G.  Hamilton. 
"  The  recent  famines  are  famines  of  money,  and  not  of 


246  APPENDICES 

food." —  Lord     G.     Hamilton,     former     Secretary     of 
State. 

Causes  of  Famines,  i.  National  industries  deliberately 
crushed  by  the  East  India  Co.  cannot  revive  under  ex- 
isting conditions. 

2.  Annual  drain  of  India. 

3.  Lack  of  such  education  as  will  enable  people  to 
develop  their  resources. 

Drain.  Montgomery  Martin.  "  The  annual  drain  of 
£3,000,000  from  British  India  has  mounted  in  thirty  years, 
at  12  per  cent,  (the  usual  Indian  rate)  compound  interest, 
to  the  enormous  sum  of  £723,900,000  sterling." —  Mont- 
gomery Martin.     (In  1830.) 

Digby.  "  During  the  last  thirty  years  of  the  century 
the  average  drain  cannot  have  been  far  short  of  £30,- 
000,000  per  year,  or,  in  the  thirty  years,  £900,000,000,  not 
reckoning   interest !  " —  Sir   William   Digby. 

Enormous  Foreign  Tribute.  Rev.  J.  T.  Sunderland. 
Rev.  J.  T.  Sunderland  in  his  work  "  The  Causes  of 
Famine  in  India,"  like  all  impartial  writers,  has  con- 
clusively proved  that  neither  "  failure  of  rains "  nor 
"  over  population "  is  the  cause  of  famines  in  India. 
He  has  stated  that  the  real  cause  of  famine  is  the  ex- 
treme, the  abject,  the  awful  poverty  of  the  Indian  people 
caused  by  "  Enormous  Foreign  Tribute,"  "  British  In- 
dian Imperialism  "  and  the  destruction  of  Indian  indus- 
tries. 

Government  assessment  too  high.  Sir  W.  Hunter. 
"  The  government  assessment  does  not  leave  enough  food 
to  the  cultivator  to  support  himself  and  his  family 
throughout  the  year." —  Sir  William  Hunter,  K.  C.  S. 
I.,  in  the  Viceroy's  Council,  1883. 

The  Ryot.  Herbert  Compton.  "  There  is  no  more 
pathetic  figure  in  the  British  Empire  than  the  Indian 
peasant.  His  masters  have  ever  been  unjust  to  him. 
He  is  ground  until  everything  has  been  expressed,  ex- 
cept the  marrow  of  his  bones." — Mr.  Herbert  Compton 
in  "  Indian  Life,"   1904. 


APPENDICES  247 

Hindustan  is  an  extensive  agricultural  country  and  the 
average  land  produces  two  crops  a  year,  and  in  Bengal 
there  are  lands  which  produce  thrice  a  year.  Bengal 
alone  produces  such  large  crops  that  they  are  quite  suf- 
ficient to  provide  all  the  population  of  Hindustan  for  two 
years. 

Indian  Plunder.  Adam  Brooks.  Adam  Brooks  says, 
("  Laws  of  Civilization  and  Decay,"  page  259-246)  "  Very 
soon  after  the  Battle  of  Plassey  (fought  in  1757)  the 
Bengal  Plunder  began  to  arrive  in  London  and  the  effect 
appears  to  have  been  almost  instantaneous.  Probably 
since  the  world  began,  no  investment  has  yielded  the 
profit  reaped  from  the  Indian  plunder.  The  amount  of 
treasure  wrung  from  the  conquered  people  and  transferred 
from  India  to  English  banks  between  Plassey  and  Water- 
loo (57  years)  has  been  variously  estimated  at  from  $2,- 
500,000,000  to  $5,000,000,000.  The  methods  of  plunder  and 
embezzlement,  by  which  every  Briton  in  India  enriched 
himself  during  the  earlier  history  of  the  East  India  Com- 
pany, gradually  passed  away,  but  the  drain  did  not  pass 
away.  The  difference  between  that  earlier  day  and  the 
present  is,  that  India's  tribute  to  England  is  obtained  by 
"  indirect  methods,"  under  forms  of  law.  It  is  estimated 
by  Mr.  Hyndman  that  at  least  $175,000,000  is  drained 
away  every  year  from  India,  without  a  cent's  return." 

Swami  Abhedananda.  "  India  pays  interest  on  Eng- 
land's debt,  which  in  1900  amounted  to  244  millions 
sterling,  and  which  annually  increases.  Besides  this,  she 
pays  for  all  the  officers,  civil  and  military,  and  a  huge 
standing  army,  pensions  of  officers,  and  even  the  cost  of 
the  India  Building  in  London,  as  well  as  the  salary  of 
every  menial  servant  of  that  house.  For  1901-2  the 
total  expenditure  charged  against  revenue  was  $356,97* r 
410.00,  out  of  which  $84,795,515.00  was  spent  in  England 
as  Home  Charges,  not  including  the  pay  of  European 
officers  in  India,  saved  and  remitted  to  England. — Swami 
Abhedananda  ("  India  and  Her  People"). 

Alfred  Webb  (late  M.P.) :    "  In  charges  for  the  India 


248  APPENDICES 

Office  (in  London) ;  for  recruiting  (in  Great  Britain, 
for  soldiers  to  serve  in  India)  ;  for  civil  and  military 
pensions  (to  men  now  living  in  England,  who  were  for- 
merly in  the  Indian  service)  ;  for  pay  and  allowances  on 
furloughs  (to  men  on  visits  to  England) ;  for  private 
remittances  and  consignments  (for  India  to  England)  ; 
for  interest  on  Indian  debt  (paid  to  parties  in  England)  ; 
and  for  interest  on  railways  and  other  works  (paid  to 
shareholders  in  England),  there  is  annually  drawn  from 
India  and  spent  in  the  United  Kingdom,  a  sum  calculated 
at  from  £25,000,000  to  £30,000,000  (Between  $125,000,- 
000  and  $150,000,000)." 

"  Narrow  and  Shortsighted  Imperial  Policy."  Sir 
Archibald  R.  Colquehoun.  "  The  present  condition  of 
affairs  undoubtedly  renders  the  struggle  for  existence  a 
hard  one,  as  may  be  realized  when  it  is  considered  that 
a  vast  population  of  India  not  only  from  the  inevitable 
droughts  which  so  frequently  occur,  but  also  from  a  nar- 
row and  shortsighted  imperial  policy  which  places  every 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  Industrial  development  and  im- 
poses heavy  taxes  on  the  struggling  people.  According 
to  various  authorities,  Russia's  demand  upon  landowners 
in  her  Central  Asian  possession  are  not  so  exacting  as 
ours  in  India,  for  the  British  Government  insists  on  a 
fifth  of  the  produce,  making  no  allowance  for  good  or 
bad  years;  while  Russia  is  said  to  ask  only  a  tenth 
and  allow  for  variation  of  production."  (Pages  135-6, 
"  Russia  Against  India,"  by  Sir  Archibald  R.  Colque- 
houn,  Gold  Medalist,   Royal  Geographical   Society.) 

Taxation.  Lord  Salisbury.  The  British  policy  of 
bleeding  Indian  people.  "  The  injury  is  exaggerated  in 
the  case  of  India  where  so  much  of  the  revenue  is  ex- 
ported without  a  direct  equivalent.  As  India  must  be 
bled,  the  lancet  should  be  directed  to  the  parts  where 
the  blood  is  congested  or  at  least  sufficient,  not  to  those 
already  feeble  for  the  want  of  it." — Lord  Salisbury. 


APPENDICES  249 

III 
FACTS  AND  FIGURES 

Plague,  Deaths  from.  Plague  x  deaths  from  1897-1913: 
7.251,257. 

Death  Rate.  Death  rate  was:  34.28  for  the  year 
1907-11 ;  32  for  the  year  191 1,  and  29.71  for  the  year  1912. 

Rural  from  41.8  to  23.5. 

Urban  from  47.6  to  22.7. 

Indian  Finance.  The  budget  figures  of  the  government 
of  India  for  1914-15  show  the  total  estimated  income  for 
the  year  to  be  slightly  over  85  millions  sterling,  of  which 
more  than  17  millions  are  given  out  as  railway  receipts 
and  about  43/2  millions  for  irrigation  work,  thus  leaving 
the  pure  revenue  to  be  about  63  millions. 

Land  Tax.  The  principal  source  of  revenue  is  the 
land  tax,  which  alone  furnishes  a  little  over  21  l/t  mil- 
lions of  pounds,  of  which,  if  we  deduct  9  millions  shown 
as  the  "  direct  demand  on  the  revenues  "  only  i2l/2  millions 
are  left  for  general  purposes. 

The  military  expenses  alone  are  estimated  at  about  22 
millions,  which  is  even  in  excess  of  the  gross  total  re- 
ceipts from  the  land  tax,  and  is  more  than  one-third  of 
the  total  revenues  from  all  sources. 

The  figures  for  income  are  a  little  misleading,  be- 
cause out  of  a  total  of  about  17  millions  (17  millions 
and  33  thousand)  shown  as  railway  receipts  about  13  mil- 
lions (13,409,000)  shown  as  paid  for  interest  and  other 
miscellaneous  charges  on  the  expenditure  side,  should  be 
deducted.  Similarly  about  4^  millions  are  shown  as  re- 
ceipts under  the  head  of  irrigation,  and  over  3>4  millions 
are  shown  against  that  head  as  expenditure. 

Among  the  other  heads  of  income,  excise  brings  slightly 

1  We  do  not  mean  to  say  that  British  Rule  in  India  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  plague,  but  with  better  management  of  re- 
sources, i.e.,  better  sanitation,  the  plague  could  have  been 
prevented  or  eradicated  sooner  than  has  been  attempted. 


250  APPENDICES 

over  9  millions.  Income  tax  is  included  under  "  Other 
Heads,"  which  show  a  total  figure  of  slightly  over  5  mil- 
lions. 

Income  Tax.  The  income  tax,  which  is  levied  on  in- 
comes other  than  those  derived  from  agriculture,  is  only 
6V2d.  in  a  pound  on  incomes  of  £133  or  more,  a  year, 
and  almost  5d.  a  pound  on  incomes  below  that  figure. 
The  minimum  taxable  income  is  £66  a  year,  which  shows 
that  all  incomes  of  between  5-6  pounds  a  month,  or  be- 
tween 25-30  dollars  a  month,  are  taxed.  The  large  for- 
tunes made  by  Europeans  and  Indians  by  trade,  specula- 
tion, manufacture,  and  unearned  increments  of  valua- 
tion, are  thus  easily  let  off.  The  principle  burden  of  tax- 
ation falls  on  the  poor  ryot. 

Income  from  agriculture  is  supposed  to  be  taxed  at  the 
rate  of  50  per  cent,  of  the  net  income  of  the  landlord,  or 
at  the  rate  of  20  per  cent,  of  the  gross  produce  of  the 
ryot,  under  the  ryotwari  system.  In  some  cases  it  ex- 
ceeds these  proportions  and  is  as  high  as  65  per  cent. 
(See  Lord  Morley's  reply  to  C.  T.  O'Donnell.) 

Customs.  Customs,  which  furnish  the  principal  source 
of  revenue  in  the  United  States  and  Germany,  in  India 
only  yield  about  less  than  jy2  millions.  The  imports  are 
charged  ad  valorem  duty  of  5  per  cent,  with  special  con- 
ditions as  to  textiles,  and  "  a  large  free  list."  The  textile 
woven  goods  pay  a  duty  of  3^  per  cent,  and  Lancashire 
is  protected  by  a  corresponding  excise  duty  on  textile 
goods  produced  in  the  country.  Iron  and  steel  pay  only 
a  nominal  duty  of  one  per  cent. 

The  other  principal  source  of  revenue  is  the  drink 
traffic,  from  which  the  government  of  India  makes  an 
income  of  about  nine  millions  sterling.  How  much  loss 
in  morals  it  inflicts  thereby  on  the  country  may  better  be 
imagined.    That  however  is  another  story. 


APPENDICES  251 


TRADE  FIGURES  FOR  1973  to  1914 

Imports     (manufactured    articles     forming 

80  per  cent,  of  the  total)  : £127  millions 

Treasure:    29  millions 

£156  millions 
Exports  (chiefly  raw  produce  and  articles 

of  food)  : £163  millions 

The  shipping  is  entirely  in  European  hands  and  it  would 
be  interesting  to  enquire  how  much  does  India  pay  for 
the  shipping  of  its  imports  and  exports,  and  how  much  do 
the  foreigners  make  by  way  of  insurance  and  other  charges. 
The  exact  gain  to  Great  Britain  and  other  European 
countries  from  Indian  trade  is  simply  incalculable.  The 
great  bulk  of  the  foreign  trade  on  both  sides  is  in  the 
hands  of  foreigners. 

PERSONNEL  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 

Secretary  of  State  and  all  Under  Secretaries,  as  well  as 
Assistant  Under  Secretaries: 

British 
Council:  British  Indians  Total 

8  2  10 

All  Office  Establishment  and  Secretaries:    British. 

All  salaries  and  other  expenses  paid  by  India. 

Governor  General  and  Council  and  staff  (i.e.,  the  Brit- 
ish Indian  Cabinet). 
Members  of   the   Executive    Council:   British   7;    one 
only  is  an  Indian. 

Revenue  and  Agriculture  Department:  All  Secre- 
taries down  to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Office: 
British.     (Total   strength,   7.) 

Finance  Department:  21;  all  British  except  that  one 
Assistant  Secretary  is  an  Indian,  and  one  Superin- 
tendent is  an  Indian. 


252  APPENDICES 

Foreign  Department:  6;  all  British  except  that  one  At- 
tache is  an  Indian. 

Education  Department:  8;  one  Assistant  Secretary  is 
an  Indian. 

Legislative  Department  :  7 ;  only  one  Legal  Assistant  an 
Indian. 

Army   Department:    10;  one   Office   Superintendent   an 
Indian. 

Public  Works:   15;  no  Indian. 

Commerce  and  Industry:   ii;  3  Office  Superintendents 
are  Indians. 

Railway  Board:  4,  no  Indian. 

Post  Office  and  Telegraph   Department:  no  Indian. 

Indo-European   Trade  Department:  no   Indian. 

Survey:  no  Indian. 

Geological  Survey:  5;  no  Indian. 

Botanical  Department:  5;  no  Indian. 

Archaeological  Survey:  9;  one  Indian. 

Miscellaneous  Appointments:   39;   one   Indian. 

The  Indian  Legislative  Council:  — 

Total  strength  67,  out  of  which  35,  besides  the  Gov- 
ernor General  are  always  officials,  only  one  of  which 
is  an  Indian;  of  the  remaining  32,  28  are  Indian  mem- 
bers, including  3  nominated  by  the  Government,  i.e., 
a  total  of  20  out  of  67. 

Provincial  Government: 
All  Governors,  Lieutenant  Governors,  and  Chief  Com- 
missioners of  Provinces  are  British. 
In   Provinces  having  Executive  Councils  of  three  or 

more,  one  is  an  Indian. 
Secretaries  and  Heads  of  Departments  are  all  British- 
ers.    Of  the  large  army  of  Under  Secretaries  and  As- 
sistant Secretaries,  perhaps  one  in  each  Province  is  an 
Indian. 

Services : 
Army:     No  Indian  is  eligible  to  a  commissioned  rank. 
Indian  Civil  Service:  (on  the  first  of  April,  1913)  out 
of  a  total  cadre  of  1318,  only  46  were  Indians. 


APPENDICES  253 

Indian  Medical  Service:  Little  over  5  per  cent,  are 
Indians. 

In  Provincial  Legislative  Councils  having  very  re- 
stricted powers  of  legislation,  the  elected  Indians  are 
in  a  minority  everywhere. 

FIGURES  ABOUT  EDUCATION  AND  LITERACY: 

(Figures  taken  from  the  Year  Book  of  1914) 

Area,  1,773,168  square  miles. 
Population,  315,132,537. 
Universities  in  British  India,  6. 

Number  of  High  Schools  for  males 1273 

Number  of  High  Schools  for  females 144 

Primary  schools  for  males   1 13,955 

i.e.,  not  even  1  for  every  10  miles. 
Primary  schools  for  females 13,694 

Literally. 

Males,  106  per  1000,  i.e.,  about  10V2  per  cent. 
Females,  only  10  per  1000,  i.e.,  about  1  per  cent. 

All  these  figures  are  taken  from  the  Indian  Year  Book, 
published  by  the  Times  of  India  Press,  Bombay,  for  the  years 
1914  and  1915. 

IV 

THE  FLOGGING  OF  POLITICAL  PRISONERS 

(An  extract  from  New  India,  a  paper  edited  by   Mrs. 
Annie  Besant.) 

The  tragedy  of  Mr.  Ramcharan  Lai,  the  ex-editor  of 
the  Swaraj,  continues.  Mr.  Macleod,  the  city  magistrate 
of  Nagpur,  has  sentenced  him  to  an  additional  six  months 
of  rigorous  imprisonment  after  his  sentence  has  expired 
for  'refusing  to  work.'    Our  readers  will  remember  the 


254  APPENDICES 

case.  This  unfortunate  political  prisoner  —  whose  ana- 
logues in  foreign  countries  have  been  welcomed  and  pro- 
tected on  British  soil  —  under-going  a  sentence  of  im- 
prisonment, was  so  brutally  flogged  for  refusing  to  do 
work,  which  he  says  was  more  than  he  could  do,  that  the 
prison  doctor  admits  that  he  would  have  been  unable  to 
work  for  four  days  after  the  flogging,  and  six  weeks  after 
it  the  skin  was  still  discoloured  and  two  serious  scars 
remained.  Now  he  has  a  heavy  sentence  of  six  months' 
additional  imprisonment.  Is  this  British  treatment  of  a 
political  prisoner?  Why  did  Britons  protest  against  the 
use  of  the  knout  on  political  prisoners  in  Russia?  Is  there 
no  one  in  the  House  of  Commons  who  will  ask  a  question 
on  this  case,  and  demand  an  enquiry  into  the  treatment 
of  political  prisoners  in  India? 


INDEX 


Abul  Fazal,  52 

Abul  Qasim,  70 

Ahmad  Khan  (Sir  Syed),  115 

Akbar,  71,  72,  73,  74 

Alberuni,  52 

Alexander  the  Great,  68 

Al-Hilal,  62 

Asoka,  9,  11,  12,  69 

Aurangzeb,  52,  73,  95 

B 

Ball,    Charles     (Indian    Mu- 
tiny), 105 
Bankim  Chandra,  190,  191 
Bannerjea  (Sir  G.),  171 
Bonner jea,  W.  C,  133 
Barendra,  194 
Bengalee  (newspaper),  24 
Besant,  Annie,  50,  115 
Blavatsky,  115 
Burke,  Edmund,  76,  77,  99 


Chamberlain  Austen,  28 
Chirol  (Sir  V.),  I,  29 
Colvin  (Sir  A.),  124 
Comrade,  62 

Curzon    (Lord),    29,   88,    89, 
147,  156,  158,  159,  239,  240 


Dalhousie,  97 

D.  A.  V.  College,  165 

David,  Rhys,  68 


Dayal,  Har,  152,  156,  195  to 

199,  211 
Dayanand  (Saraswati),  115 
Dickinson  (Lowes),  5 
Dufferin     (Lord),    121,    122, 

138,  142 


Englishman   (The),   168,  169, 
182 


Faizi,  52 

Fergusson  College,  164 

Fuller  (Sir  W.  B.),  V7 


Gaekwar  (Baroda),  88 

Galib,  52 

Ghosh,    Arabinda,    152,    155, 

172  to  175,  183,  205,  209,  211 
Gokhale,  G.  K.,  13S,  137,  159 

to  161,  181,  199,  216,  237 
Gossain  (Narendra),  194 
Govind  (Singh),  95,  102 
Greece,  11 
Gupta  Empire,  13 
Gupta,  Chandra,  9,  10,  68,  69 
Gupta,  Samundra,  i3,  14 

H 

Hamdard,  62 

Hardinge  (Lord),  121,  184 

Hastings,  Warren,  99 

Havell,  E.  B.,  12 

Holmes      (History     of     the 


255 


256 


INDEX 


Sepoy  War),  104;  (History 
of  the  Indian  Mutiny),  105 
Hume    (A.   O.),   122,    124  to 
127,  130,  135,  137,  140,  144 


Ibn,  Batuta,  52 
Ilbert  (Bill),  119 

K 

Kali,  189,  190 

Kaye    (History    of    the    Mu- 
tiny), 103,  104,  106 
Kipling,  Rudyard,  1 


Lancashire,  62,  75 
Law,  Bonar,  28 
Leader  (newspaper),  27 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  31 
Lytton,  Lord,  116,  118 

M 

Macdonald,   J.    Ramsay,    181, 

182 
Macdonnel,  Lord,  29,  239,  240 
Malleson     (History     of     the 

Mutiny),  103,  104,  106 
Manchester,  62 
Mazhar-ul-Haq,  53 
Megasthenes,  69 
Mill   (History  of  Br.  India), 

68 
Minto  (Lord),  179 
Mohani,  Abul  Hasan  Hasrat, 

183 
Miiller,  Max,  1 
Muslim  League,  49,  52 
Muslim  Gazette,  62 

N 

Naoroji   Dadabhai,   133,    137, 
179 


Nath,  Ajudhia,  133 

National  Council  of  Educa- 
tion, 171 

National  Congress,  Indian, 
122-145 

National  College,  173 

Nepal,  13 

Nevinson,  H.  W.,  181,  182 

Noble,  Miss,  1 


Pal,  B.  C,  162,  183,  190 
Partap,  Rana,  71,  72,  73 
Pillai,  Chidambaran,  183 
Plassey,  96 
Pratt,  3 
Prithvi,  Raj,  70 

R 

Rai,  Lajpat,  181,  183 
Ramakrishna  Mission,  215 
Ranade,  115,  133 
Rawlinson,  10,  11 
Reay,  Lord,  123 
Ripon,  Lord,  119  to  122 
Roberts  (Charles),  28 
Robertson,  Sir  G.  Scott,  29 
Roy,  Ram  Mohan,  m 


Samaj,  Arya,  117,  215 

Samaj,  Brahmo,  ill,  215 

Savarkar,  210,  211 

Seleucus,  68 

Sher  Shah,  52,  73 

Shah  Jahan,  52 

Sikhs,  73,  102 

Sinha,  Sir  S.  P.,  31 

Smith,  Vincent,  10,  II,  12,  13, 

15 
Sivaji,  95,  129 
Surat,  148 
Swadeshi,  148,  168 
Swaraj,   148 
Sydenham,  Lord,  29,  239,  240 


INDEX 


257 


Tagore,  5 

Teg,  Bahadur  Guru,  95,  102 
Theosophical  Society,  117 
Tilak  (Bal  Ganga  Dhar),  28, 

133,  *55,  162,  183 
Tod,  Colonel,  73 
Tyabji,  133 


Vikramaiityas,  14 
Vivekananda,  115,  193 

W 

Wacha,  39,  41 

Wedderburn    (Sir    W.),    122, 

128,   137,   144 
Wellesly,  Lord,  97. 
Wilson    (History   of    India), 

94 


Victoria,  Queen,  13 
Vidyasagar,   164 


Zamindar  (newspaper),  62 


WORKS  BY   THE  SAME  AUTHOR   {IN  ENGLISH) 
THE  ARYA  SAMAJ 

An  account  of  its  origin,  doctrines  and  activities,  with  a  Bio- 
graphical Sketch  of  the  Founder.  With  an  Introduction  by 
Professor  Sidney  Webb,  LL.B.,  of  the  London  School  of  Eco- 
nomics and  Political  Science  (University  of  London.)  With 
10  Illustrations.  Crown  8vo.  pp.  xxvi-\-305,  price,  $1.75  net. 
Professor  Sidney  Webb  in  the  Preface  which  he  has  written 
to  this  book  says — "I  believe  that  this  is  the  first  book  dealing 
with  what  may  possibly  prove  to  be  the  most  important  re- 
ligious movement  in  the  whole  of  India."  The  author,  Mr. 
Lajpat  Rai,  gives  a  biographical  account  of  the  Swami  Dayan- 
anda,  who  was  the  founder  of  the  Arya  Samaj,  and  died  in 
1883.  Since  then  the  organization  which  Dayananda  founded 
has  increased  enormously,  and  numbered  243,000  members 
in  iqii,  having  more  than  doubled  since  1901. 

The  Arya  Samaj  aims  at  a  thorough  reformation  of  the 
religion  of  Hinduism.  It  advocates  the  abolition  of  the  wor- 
ship of  Idols  and  desires  that  the  Hindu  religion  should  be 
restored  to  the  pure  and  lofty  Monotheism  of  the  Vedas 
which  it  believes  to  be  the  sole  source  of  religious  truth.  Mr. 
Blunt,  I.C.S.,  in  the  census  report  for  the  United  Province 
for  191 1  calls  it  "the  greatest  religious  movement  in  India 
of  the  past  half  century." 

New  York  Times: — It  is  quite  impossible  for  any  one  pos- 
sessed  of   imagination  to  close  this   book  without    feeling 
that  it  has  introduced  him  to  a  movement  of  very  great 
importance  ...  (a)    fascinating  book. 
Unity: — J.  T.  Sunderland,  D.D.    "An  interesting,  well  writ- 
ten, reliable  book." 
Journal  of  Religious  Psychology: — A  very  interesting  account. 
Boston  Transcript: — Very  remarkable  book. 
Christian  Intelligence: — Fascinating  in  style  and  matter. 
Literary  Digest: — More  interesting  to  Americans. 
Outlook: — It  (the  Arya  Samaj)   deserves  wide  attention. 
Christian   Work: — "Carefully  thought   out  and   selected   ma- 
terial" framed  "into  well-expressed  phrases." 
London  Times: — A  remarkable  book. 
London  Daily  News: — An  indispensable  book. 
London  "India": — A   historic   book. 

Very  favorable  reviews  given  by  the  (London)  Nation, 
the  (London)  New  Statesman,  the  Pall  Mall  Gazette  and 
other  English  and  American  papers  in  lengthy  notices. 

REFLECTIONS   ON  THE   POLITICAL  SITUATION 
IN  INDIA       A  pamphlet.  25  cents. 
To  be  had  of  the  author,  care  of  B.  W.  Huebsch,  225 
Fifth  avenue,  New  York. 

THE  STORY  OF  MY  DEPORTATION 

Second  Edition  in  Course  of  Preparation 


DATE  DUE 


MAR  I 

5  8  1972 

JUN     -J 

'  1W  § 

n  ! 

. '  i . 

,S 

u  ^ 

GAYLORD 

PRINTED  IN  U.S.A. 

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